Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Pirates Bash Cardinals to Even Critical Series at PNC Park

Pedro Alvarez was dubbed the Pirates savior when the team drafted him with the second overall pick in the 2008 June amateur draft, and for good reason. Alvarez possesses the kind of raw power that not too many people in the game of baseball have. A few months ago, Bucco skipper Clint Hurdle said that, in all the years he's been around baseball, he's only heard about five or six bats make the kind of sound that Alvarez's does when he makes solid contact with a baseball. It's a very distinctive sound, and if you need any visual proof, here it is. That was the second of two blasts for Alvarez, as he led the Pirates to a very much needed 9-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park this evening. The homer cleared the stands in right-center, believe it or not, and it went an estimated 469 feet. It's the fourth longest home run ever hit at PNC, and the longest ever by a Pirate in the 12 seasons at the beautiful ballpark.

The struggling as of late James McDonald also contributed heavily to the victory, as he continued his curious mastery of the Cardinals' potent lineup with seven shut-out innings.

The Pirates can't seem to get on much of a roll as of late, but maybe tonight's gem of a victory will finally wake the team out of its four week slumber.

The Pirates now find themselves two games back of the Cardinals for the second wild card spot in the National League. I don't need to tell you how crucial a victory would be tomorrow. After tonight's win, a loss isn't going to kill them, but a win sure would make things a lot tighter, and a lot more exciting for the Pirates and the fan base.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Last Stand for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

A common phrase uttered by me over the course of the Pittsburgh Pirates' 19 straight years of losing was: "All I really want is for them to make it to September and be only a few games back of a playoff spot." Well, here we are on August 27th, 2012, and the Pirates are, indeed, only two games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card spot in the National League.

Further more, the Cardinals are in town to play the Pirates in a very important series at PNC Park. If Pittsburgh can do some damage in this series and take at least two games, we could be in for a very exciting last month of the season. And, really, what more can you ask for than for your favorite baseball team to be in a playoff race right until the very end? As a Pirates fan, that would be even more special because of everything that has happened to the team since shortly after my 20th birthday.

Like I said a couple of weeks ago, in the context of the big picture, where the Pirates are in the standings is quite remarkable. However, in the context of "right now," things aren't looking so hot for Pittsburgh, and they haven't for quite some time.

Since August 4th, the Pirates are 8-15, and they've only won one of their past seven series. During the slump, they've gone from four games up in the wild card standings, to two games out.

The Cardinals have been scuffling around a bit for most of this season despite having a fairly decent pitching staff and an explosive offense that ranks third in the Majors in runs scored. But you just knew they were going to flip the switch eventually, and it appears that they have.

St. Louis just concluded a series in Cincinnati where they took two of three from the first place Reds, and looked rather impressive in doing so.

The Cardinals are defending World Series champions, so they weren't going to go away, and now they find themselves at PNC Park. For what it's worth, the Pirates have had pretty decent success against St. Louis this season--they've taken four of the last six at Busch Stadium--but we're heading for the stretch run. This is where a team like the Cardinals starts to have a sense of urgency and goes for the throat each and every game.

They talk about the regression to the mean with baseball players and teams. Well, when it comes to a pennant race, there is no regression to the mean; there is no correction in numbers. It's about winning baseball games right now.

The Cardinals came from way behind in the wild card standings and made the playoffs on the last day of the season a year ago. They eventually found themselves in the World Series, where they defeated the Texas Rangers for their second title since 2006.

They know how to play September baseball.

When it comes to the Pirates, there is that talk of regressing to the mean, but it's more likely that this inexperienced team is finding the pressure of pennant baseball to be a little too intense.

A winning season is still a possibility, but a playoff berth? I guess we might know the answer to that question later on this week.

I always wanted the Pirates to be a few games back of a playoff berth late in the year.

Well, here we are.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Were the Pirates Done In By Another 19 Inning Game?

Last Sunday, right after the Pirates vanquished the St. Louis Cardinals in 19 exhausting innings, I was pretty excited and pumped up. However, that feeling of excitement didn't last long. The Pirates "character building" win in St. Louis was followed by a trip to San Diego, where the Pirates got swept by the craptastic Padres. The Pirates are home for a weekend series with the Brewers followed by a crucial three-game stint next week with those same Cardinals who they are battling in the wild card standings. Pretty big, right? How did Pittsburgh respond in game one of the home stand? By looking awful and losing to Milwaukee, 6-5.

There are a lot of overly optimistic Pirates fans floating around the Internet who only see this current 4-11 stretch as a mere bump in the road. No, my friends, I do not agree. A bump in the road is a week's worth of bad play. This bump is starting to turn into one huge mountain, and if the Pirates don't get their act together soon, they'll, once again, be on the wrong side of that elusive .500 mark. There are so many people out there who have already put the long sought-after winning season (or at least non-losing, anyway) in the bank. "Oh, it would take a collapse of epic proportions for them not to finish with at least 81 wins."

Oh really? These are the Pittsburgh Pirates we're talking about. If any team is capable of an August and September meltdown, it's our lovable Buccos.

A lot of people pointed to the Pirates' 19 inning loss in Atlanta in late July as a turning point in the wrong direction for the 2011 Pirates. Shortly after the loss, which was extremely controversial because of a blown call by home plate umpire Jerry Meals, the Pirates quickly hit the skids and went 19-43 down the stretch to finish at 72-90.

Right now, the Pirates are 67-58, and they have 37 games remaining in the season. In-order for them to finish below .500, they'd have to go 13-24. That's not exactly impossible. It's a .351 winning percentage. The Buccos got to 60 wins after 104 games. Since then, they're 7-14. That's a winning percentage of .333. Starting at that 104 game mark, it would take a 20-38 mark down the stretch for the Pirates to go 80-82. That's a .344 winning percentage.

Beware, Pirates fans. That's all I'm saying.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Who Has 50 Thumbs and Owns the Pirates? The San Diego Padres

In the movie Major League, the Cleveland Indians manager is having a conversation with the general manager after another tough loss to the New York Yankees, and he says, "Maybe one of these days, we'll find a way to beat those guys." Of course, having problems against the big, bad Yankees--even in a fictional movie--is never anything to be too ashamed of. And in the end, the Indians finally vanquished the Yankees in a one-game playoff and won the AL East.

One could say that the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates are like a real-life version of that fictional Indians squad. After 19 seasons of losing, the franchise has finally recaptured the imagination of Pirates fans everywhere, and are currently in the lead for the second wild card spot in the National League. However, the Pirates' lead is a minuscule 1/2 game over both the Dodgers and Cardinals, and if they do narrowly miss out on a postseason berth, they could look back on their struggles with the San Diego Padres as one of the main reasons. With one game left against them this year, the Pirates are currently 1-4 vs. San Diego. In fact, over their past 25 games with the Padres, Pittsburgh is 4-21--including 11-consecutive losses at PNC Park at one point.

Sometimes, a team just has another team's number, and that wouldn't be so bad if the Padres were anything like those fictional (or non-fictional) New York Yankees. Instead, San Diego currently has a 55-70 record and sits in next to last place in the NL West. Last season, the Padres finished 71-91. So unlike Major League's Indians, the Pirates won't be able to get any sort of revenge on the Padres in any postseason matchup because San Diego hasn't figured out a way to beat anyone else.

Even if the Pirates get a win today over the Padres, it won't even begin to reverse the damage that may have already been done to their postseason chances.

Major League's Indians had the New York Yankees to overcome; in the movie Necessary Roughness, the Texas St. Fightin' Armadillos had to slay the number one Texas Colts at the end of the movie; and the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates have the San Diego Padres?

There will have to be a lot of poetic license involving the Padres if the story of these Pirates is ever made into a movie.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Pirates Win Epic 19 Inning Affair on Sunday and Take Two of Three from the Cardinals

Last summer, the Pittsburgh Pirates, surprise contenders for the National League Central division, battled the Atlanta Braves on July 26th in a game that would last 19 exhausting innings. The Pirates lost it in the bottom of the 19th on a very very disputed call by home plate umpire Jerry Meals, who called Braves' base runner Julio Lugo safe at home even though it appeared that Pirates' catcher Michael McKenry tagged Lugo on the leg as he made his slide.

That loss to the Braves has often been singled-out as one of the main reasons for the Pirates miserable collapse down the stretch in 2011. I don't know how much stock you put into the outcome of one baseball game, but as Yogi Berra once said, "90% of the game is half mental," so maybe the Pirates, a team still learning how to win after so many years of losing, just couldn't shake off the loss, and maybe that did contribute heavily to their rapid descent over the last two months of the season.

Well, if last year's 19 inning loss to the Braves started the Buccos slide, maybe this year's 19 inning win over the Cardinals will catapult the team to heights it hasn't seen in two decades. If July 26th was the infamous date that the 2011 Pirates started to fall apart at the seams, maybe August 19th will be the date that the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates were fortified as legit contenders. The Pirates defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3, in 19 innings to take two of three over the weekend at Busch Stadium and move two games up on the Cardinals in the National League wild card standings.

The Cardinals went up 2-0 in the bottom of the 4th, but the Pirates bounced back to tie it in the 6th. After that, pitching took center stage for the rest of the afternoon. Starter Jeff Karstens pitched seven strong innings, and after he departed, five Pirates relievers combined to pitch nine shutout innings. In the top of the 17th, Garrett Jones drove in pitcher James McDonald with an infield single--McDonald was used as a pinch-hitter in the inning and got on base with a hit. Unfortunately, reliever Juan Cruz gave up the tying run in the bottom of the 17th inning on a sacrifice fly.

However, in the top of the 19th inning, Pirates slugger Pedro Alvarez continued his impressive daylight power (just before dusk, fortunately) with a bomb to right-center field to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead. Later in the inning, Andrew McCutchen added some insurance with a two-run single to make it 6-3.

Starter Wandy Rodriguez, called on to pitch even though he was the scheduled starter for tonight's game in San Diego, closed out the game with two scoreless innings to earn his first win as a member of the Pirates.

It was certainly a memorable day for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans. Time is going to be the greatest factor in determining the impact of yesterday's win. However, if Pittsburgh does go on to clinch a postseason berth, many might point to the 19 inning battle in St. Louis as the game that put the team over the top.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Pirates Salvage Yet Another Series: Down Dodgers, 10-6, in Wild Affair at PNC

Everytime I think I'm out, they keep pulling me back in! I think it's safe to say that, as a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Pirates came into Thursday afternoon's contest against the Dodgers having lost six of seven games. Los Angeles won the first three games of the four game series and completely mandhandled Pittsburgh the past two nights by a combined score of 20-3.

The Pirates, who held a 4.5 game lead in the wild card standings just two weeks ago, started the day tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the second spot in the National League.

Thankfully, the Pirates have ace A.J. Burnett, and for the third time in the last two and a half weeks, the 35 year old bulldog of a pitcher was called upon to end a Pirates losing streak.

Burnett came through again today. He didn't have his best stuff, but he pitched 6 2/3 innings and left with the Pirates ahead, 8-6, in what would eventually be a much needed 10-6 Pirates win.

Garrett Jones, who is quietly having a great season, was the real hero today. He hit two home runs (numbers 19 and 20) and had six runs batted in to up his total in that department to 64 for the season.

It's nice that the Pirates were able to salvage yet another series, but this salvaging business is getting out of hand. First, they had to salvage the final game of the Reds series two Sundays ago. This past Sunday, they salvaged the final game of the Padres series. And now, today, they avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers by salvaging the matinee at PNC Park.

The Pirates are hanging in there, but they really need to get on a roll soon. They open up a three-game series in St. Louis starting tomorrow. It's time that the Pirates salvage whatever confidence they have left and start putting other teams in positions where they must avoid a sweep by trying to salvage the final game of a series. What better time to start that than this weekend in St. Louis?

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Slumping Pittsburgh Pirates

I don't have to tell you how awesome and magical the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates season has been for the organization as well as for fans like me, who have waited years to see the kind of on-field success that we've witnessed so far.

Right now, the Bucs are 64-52 and currently have a half game lead for the second wild card spot in the National League. Back in April, if anyone would have thought the above-scenario would be taking place on August 15th, I think just about every fan would have signed his/her name in blood.

What a great story, right? Well, it has been a tremendous story, and if it ended today, it would be quite the successful one. However, there are still a few more chapters remaining in the 2012 season, and right now, the Pirates find themselves in the uncertain point of the story where you don't know if the hero will survive its perils and come out on the other end still in one piece.

Just two weeks ago, Pittsburgh's record stood at 60-44, and that lead in the wild card standings was up to four games. Since then, the Pirates are 4-8 and have lost five of their past six games. And if it wasn't for a nine run outburst in the fourth inning of Sunday's comeback win over the Padres, Pittsburgh would be on a six-game skid and on the wrong side of a wild card spot.

I think even the most optimistic Pirates fan would confess that they're at least a little worried at this point. Before the All-Star break, the Pirates were on a 16-6 roll. Since then, they're 16-15. Before this current 11-game home-stand, the Pirates had the best home record in baseball at 34-16. This was supposed to be a stretch where the Pirates made a statement. Instead, they're currently 3-6. Last Tuesday, the Pirates lost their first game of the season when leading after seven innings in a 10-4 loss to the Diamondbacks. Three days later, they blew a 7-1 lead and lost 9-8 to the lowly Padres. The next night, the Pirates were shut-out by San Diego. The team put up another goose-egg last night in an 11-0 beat-down at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are closing in fast and could occupy that second wild card spot with a third straight victory this evening at PNC Park.

Maybe this is just another slump, and a lot of the people who are critical of the naysayers will be saying "I told you so" a week from now. I sure hope you're right.

However, I'm beginning to wonder if this is just a minor slump. Last season, Andrew McCutchen struggled in the second half. This year, he's struggling again, with only one home run and 5 RBI in the past 25 games. Pedro Alvarez has also seen a significant dip in his power, with only one home run since July 23rd.

If not for the offensive contributions of Neil Walker, Garrett Jones and the newly called up Starling Marte, one only knows where the Pirates would find themselves right now.

As for the starting pitching, what once was a source of strength has turned into a source of anxiety. A.J. Burnett has remained as consistent as any pitcher in the league, but the rest of the rotation is one huge question mark, especially James McDonald, who has completely lost it in the second half and has given up 30 runs in his last 31 innings.

Maybe chemistry is an issue. Since the trading deadline, when Travis Snider, Gaby Sanchez and Mark Qualls were added to the team and Casey McGehee and Brad Lincoln were sent packing, the Pirates have failed to win a series.

I hope the team gets its act together soon. There are many ways for the 2012 season to have a successful ending--the least of which would be to end the 19 years of losing--but there is still that outside chance that this fairy-tale story could have a very bad ending.

If things don't turn around soon, the last chapter of the Pirates 2012 story might not be such a good read.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

With Fans on the Brink of Panic, the Pirates Storm Back to Defeat the Padres and Salvage Final Game of Weekend Series

It was almost exactly a year ago at this time that the San Diego Padres came into PNC Park for a weekend series and pummeled the skidding Pirates in a three-game sweep that saw Pittsburgh get outscored, 35-10. Those three humiliating losses were the finishing touches on a 10-game losing streak that knocked Pittsburgh out of first place and into a tailspin that set it on course for a 19th straight losing season.

It was a pretty surreal weekend, for sure, especially considering that the Padres were pretty bad, and that the Pirates had just been swept in a four-game series by an equally bad Cubs team at PNC earlier in the week. 0 for 7 on a home-stand that everyone thought would be a cake-walk for the young Buccos.

Well, the current 11-game home-stand that the team is in the middle of wasn't shaping up to be nearly as disastrous, but it was a little too familiar to last year, that's for sure. The Pirates, in second place in the NL Central and current place-holder of the second wild card spot in the National League, split a four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier in the week. That wasn't considered a huge deal. Three of four would have been nice, but the D'Backs aren't chopped liver, and they came into PNC within shouting distance of the Pirates in the standings and not too far out of the NL West race.

But San Diego was a different story. It's teams like the Padres that the Pirates have to beat up on with so many teams in the race for those wild card spots. Instead of taking care of business against San Diego, however, Pittsburgh blew a 7-1 lead Friday night and lost, 9-8. Last night, with ace A.J. Burnett on the hill, the Pirates offense was lifeless, and Pittsburgh fell, 5-0.

It was shaping up to be another horrible early August sweep at the hands of the Padres, who came into Sunday's action having won 11 straight games at PNC Park, dating back to 2009. And to compound matters, the Dodgers and Cardinals, two of those teams still in the hunt for the postseason, had inched closer to the Pirates in the wild card standings. The Dodgers came into today's action 2 1/2 games back of Pittsburgh, and the Cardinals came in only 1 1/2 games back. And after losing five straight, the Cincinnati Reds had regained their composure and had moved to 4 1/2 games ahead of the Pirates in the Central division.

My worst fears appeared to be coming true when the Padres opened up a 5-0 lead after two innings Sunday afternoon. However, the Pirates scored a run in the bottom of the 3rd inning and erupted for nine more in the bottom of the 4th--including Clint Barmes' first career grand slam--and won going away, 11-5.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak and, at least for now, alleviated some fears that Pirates fans had. A loss today may have sent the fan base into full-blown panic mode, and who could have blamed them? We've seen too many late-season meltdowns and total collapses in recent years to not feel a sense of urgency every time the Pirates lose a few games in a row.

The good news is the Pirates have a four-game series coming up against Los Angeles starting Monday night, and then they go to St. Louis for three games. The Pirates can do something about their wild card lead and put some distance between the teams behind them. The bad news, however, is that Pittsburgh has been scuffling as of late. After today's win, the Pirates are still only 4-6 in their last 10 games. And since the All-Star break, they're 16-13. The 16-13 mark isn't necessarily horrible, but with so many teams still in contention, you have to figure that one of them is going to catch fire and go on an extended run. Playing .500 baseball over their remaining 48 games will give the Pirates their first winning season since 1992, but it probably won't get them into the playoffs.

As I said, some team is going to catch fire down the stretch. For a change, maybe it will be the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

The Joys of Following the Pirates During an Actual Pennant Race

I often tell people that there is no more festive feeling than the excitement I have leading up to a Steelers playoff game, and that's because I enjoy the anticipation and hype that surrounds such an event. When you sit down to watch a postseason football game, you have no idea how you're going to feel three hours later, but you do know that the emotion will be extreme one way or the other. There is no in-between when it comes to your favorite NFL team and the result of a playoff game. And that's the allure for football fans.

But the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates have reminded me how much fun it is to follow a baseball team in a pennant race. It's a feeling that I haven't really had in years. I got a small taste of it last season when the team contended through late July, but this year, with the Pirates 14 games over .500 and currently sitting in a wild card spot, it sure feels more real than it has since 1992.

Last night, I went online to find out how the Pirates were doing against the Padres. When I saw that they were up, 7-1, in the top of the 5th inning, in my mind, I already had the game in the win column. When I checked back 45 minutes later, I was shocked to see that the game was tied. I believe I put my hands on my head and screamed, "WHAT THE HELL!"

When they went on to lose the game, 9-8, it was the first time since Sid Bream's slide on that fateful night in Atlanta many years ago that I felt a real sense of loss and disappointment after a Pirates defeat.

Sure, in years past, I'd get annoyed after a tough loss and maybe throw my shoe somewhere, but the annoyance quickly went away--it's hard to maintain that anger when a loss drops your team to 51-83--but when your team is in an actual race with something on the line, the tough losses linger for a while.

That's what I'm feeling today. I'm still feeling the disappointment of last night's game. It's a feeling that's usually reserved for a tough regular season loss by the Steelers. But that's a good thing. It just means that I'm emotionally invested. Anyone can get up for a win, but when a tough baseball loss stays with you the next day, you know that it's real.

And that means that the next win or wins will bring me a heightened sense of joy. I know that baseball is a marathon and not a sprint, and that it's always wise to get enough water and take a breather or two during a long season, but this is August, and that means it's time to really pick up the pace emotionally. I might have some water left, and I might have a time out saved in my pocket, but in a week or two, I know I'll be all in, and there won't be time to take an emotional break until October.

It's been a long time since I've felt this way, and it feels damn good (well, not so much after last night).

Friday, August 10, 2012

The Pirates lose to the lowly Padres, 9-8, and I think I might be alarmed

I logged onto the Pirates website around 8:30 this evening to catch the score of their game against the San Diego Padres. It was the top of the 5th inning, and Pittsburgh was up, 7-1. There was a picture on the website of pitcher James McDonald in mid delivery, and the caption read something along the lines of: "Back to form."

Well, whatever good form McDonald was in lasted only a brief time, because he was gone after giving up six runs in the top of the 5th inning.

The Pirates briefly took the lead again in the bottom of the 6th, but they eventually fell, 9-8.

This loss really stings. The Padres came into the game on a bit of a roll, but they're still the lowly Padres, and when you're a contender, and you jump on a team like that, you need to put your foot on their throat and snuff the life out of them.

The Pirates didn't do that, and now they've fallen 3 1/2 games back of the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central, with the Dodgers and Cardinals closing in and only 2 1/2 games back for the second wild card spot.

There is no way around it, there is something terribly wrong with McDonald. He's only had one serviceable outing since the All-Star break, sandwiched in between some pretty awful outings.

Clint Hurdle and Ray Searage both indicated McDonald's problems are more mechanical than physical. Well, if that's the case, they need to fix it soon. Otherwise, I can't see the Pirates remaining serious contenders with a starting staff made up of ace A.J. Burnett and four other question marks, and like it or not, that's what you have right now.

Tomorrow will mark the third straight time that Burnett will have to take the mound and stop a two-game losing streak. I know, at 14-3, Burnett is having a Cy Young-like year, but he's due for a bad start or two. What happens then?

It was about a year ago that the Padres came to PNC Park and shoveled dirt on what was left of the team's winning aspirations. After tonight's awful collapse, I fear that we could be repeating history.

Steelers Lose Preseason Opener, and Some People Take it Seriously

I was talking with my mother last night after the Steelers 24-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in their 2012 preseason opener. Regarding the loss, my mom said, "People aren't going to be very happy when they wake up tomorrow morning." I asked her why, even though I knew the answer.

Like a lot of fans, my mom thinks that when the Steelers lose any game, it's a disaster. Not to sound like a football elitist, but I stopped worrying about preseason results a long time ago.

Over the years, I've grown to see preseason football for what it really is: A way to evaluate players and watch the always intriguing position battles that inevitably develop each and every training camp.

I did manage to watch most of Thursday night's game, and from what I could gather, it was your typical opening preseason game. There was no game planning, and both teams were just working on their own stuff. The starters played maybe a series or two, and then they were out of there.

On the offensive side of the ball, I was intrigued at how often the Steelers dumped the football down to the running backs out of the backfield. It was obvious that new offensive coordinator Todd Haley had emphasized that going into the game. After the game, people were expressing mixed emotions about Todd Haley's "new offense." However, I'm fairly confident that screens and check-downs to the running backs won't be the focal-point of Haley's passing attack. The real strength of Pittsburgh's offense is centered around the receiving corps that, for the time-being, is led by third year receiver Antonio Brown. The Steelers just signed Brown to a $42 million contract extension. You think they would have done so if they thought Brown wasn't going to be a major contributor to the offense?

Another intriguing aspect of last night's game was the brief performance of running back Jonathan Dwyer, who rattled off a 33 yard run before suffering a slight shoulder sprain. I've always found Dwyer to be a bit intriguing because I think he's more talented than fan favorite Isaac Redman. Right now, Redman is the designated starter at tailback with Rashard Mendenhall still recovering from offseason ACL surgery. However, comparing both Dwyer and Redman, there is no question in my mind that Dwyer has more ability. However, he just can't seem to stay fit and healthy. He was lost with an injury towards the end of last season, and even though the shoulder sprain isn't going to keep him out of action for long, one has to wonder just how many chances number 27 is going to get to make a name for himself before he's given his permanent pink slip.

As I said, Redman is already a fan favorite, and Baron Batch is right behind him. And what's not to like about rookie Chris Rainey and his blazing speed? Rainey made a splash last night with a 57 yard catch and mostly run. He showed off his speed and displayed the kind of ability that could make him a real weapon.

It was business as usual for the defense, at least for the starters, anyway. I know that second year corner Curtis Brown got burned twice on passing plays, but that's going to happen to a young player.

Cortez Allen appears to be the real budding star in the secondary, and by all accounts, he's really pushing Keenan Lewis for the number two corner spot.

All-in-all, it was your typical preseason opener. Nothing much to be alarmed about.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Bandwagon Pirates Fans

I started watching the Pittsburgh Pirates on a daily basis back in the spring of 1984--the first of three straight losing seasons for the team. In '84, the Bucs were still utilizing their many combinations of uniforms--gold pants/black shirts, black pants/gold shirts, all gold, all white, pinstripes, etc--but instead of legends like Willie Stargell and Dave Parker wearing those uniforms, players named Jason Thompson and Dale Berra were donning them, and their clown-like play in the field was a fitting tribute to their out-of-date attire.

The magic was gone. Instead of witnessing glory days similar to the "We Are Family" ERA of just a half a decade earlier, I lived and died for a team that had no chance of winning. I kind of knew that deep-down, but I was a kid. Hope still sprang eternal.

By 1985, the uniform look was more traditional, but the Pirates still looked like court jesters, losing over 100 games. And to make matters worse, the Pirates clubhouse was the epicenter of the infamous drug scandal that rocked Major League Baseball.

Also, there was talk of the team leaving town in '85 before it was rescued by a public/private consortium led by Richard S. Caligiuri, the late and great Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh and a champion of the Pirates.

They were tough times to be a fan, but damn it, I stuck by the Bucs, and I watched them rise from the ashes of the mid-80's to become one of the best teams in baseball by the early 90's. Jim Leyland was the skipper then, and he captained a ship that included Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Doug Drabek.

The Pirates never won the World Series despite making the NLCS three years in a row. Each loss was more painful than the one before, but each loss made me stronger as a fan. I was with those boys through thick and thin.

And I remained with them once the tough times resumed in '93. After the departures of Bonds, Bonilla, Drabek, Lind, Lavalliere and Smiley, the Pirates were back to square one. Little did I know that they would stay in that same position for the next 19 years. Still, though, I never wavered. I stuck with my boys the entire time. I endured the losing seasons and the last-place finishes. Much like '85, I stayed up late at night worrying if the team would be sold to a buyer who would move it out of town.

I stayed loyal after every "Five Year Plan," and I never lost hope. I was there during the sparse crowds, and I thumbed my nose at the occasional fan who would show up with a brown bag over his head.

I simply never gave up, and after enduring nearly two-decades of despair, my Buccos are on the verge of their first winning season since The Real World's first season.

This is the true story of 25 players picked to play at PNC Park and make my dreams come true!

Things have certainly been magical in 2012, and it's a season I will never forget.

However, I do have one problem with the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates, and that's their no-good bandwagon fans. How dare you guys tread on my turf? Especially you punk kids who weren't even alive when Dave Littlefield drafted Daniel Moskos instead of Matt Wieters. You weren't even old enough to appreciate what it was like to attend a Pirates' game with 8,000 of your closest friends--announced, anyway--and witness Adam Laroche bat .187.

And what about you fans who were old enough to know what baseball was all about back in the 90's and 00's? You should have been there right along with me, weeping and crying over the horrible Jason Bay trade. Instead, all of you Johnny Come Latelys waited until the team became good before you started coming out to PNC Park. Where were you during the 19 years of losing? Where were you when the band Train was the biggest attraction instead of the actual team?

"Oh, I like good baseball. I can't watch a team that sucks."

"I like Andrew McCutchen because he's good, and he's cute!"

And that reminds me. Now that the Pirates are good, they have actual women coming out to the ballpark. "Ohh, Garrett Jones is so hot!" "Neil Walker looks sexy with his 5 o'clock shadow!" Whatever.

If there's one thing worse than a bandwagon fan, it's a female bandwagon fan.

There is no place for bandwagon fans in sports. If you can't like a team when it's absolutely atrocious, you can't call yourself a fan when it finally starts to be successful.

I was there, baby. I was there when the team sucked! And I was happy to watch that crappy baseball. I liked it! I loved it!

Stay away from PNC Park. We die-hard fans who witnessed all the down years despise the fact that you casual fans might actually become die-hard Pirates fans based on division titles and World Series appearances. Yuck!

You don't even know anything about baseball. How many MVPs did Barry Bonds win while in Pittsburgh? What is Erik Bedard's WHIP? Who are the Pirates' top 20 prospects?

You don't know the answer to any of those questions, do you?

You all make me sick!

You're no better than the Penguins fans who came on board when Mario was drafted, or came back on board when Sid came to town. You weren't one of the 5000 or so die-hard hockey fans who attended Pens games at the old Civic Arena in the 70's, back when the team totally sucked. You have no right to call yourselves fans!

You're no better than the Steelers fans who hopped on that bandwagon in the early 70's when the team actually started to win. "Oh, I hate 40 straight years of not winning a playoff game, but I love four Super Bowls in six years."

Bandwagon fans make my stomach turn. Years from now, I don't want to hear any of you talk about the magical 2012 Pirates campaign.

You're not worthy!

Let's Go Bucs! But only the die-hard fans who can appreciate crappy baseball are allowed to chant along with me.

Monday, August 6, 2012

A.J. Burnett Pitches Another Masterpiece as Pirates Salvage Final Game Against the Reds with 6-2 Victory

A month ago, the general sentiment from Pirates fans was: "Where would this team be without Andrew McCutchen?" There was a good reason for that. McCutchen is probably the leading candidate to win the NL MVP award, and it wasn't long ago that he was threatening to win the Triple Crown.

But now, it's becoming quite apparent that ace A.J. Burnett may be the most important member of the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates. That's a lot of hyperbole, I know, but it's hard to argue against it.

For the second time in less than a week, Burnett threw the Pirates a much needed life-preserver with a second straight masterpiece, going 8 2/3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds yesterday afternoon in a 6-2 Pirates victory on Sunday afternoon. The performance by Burnett helped the Pirates salvage the final game of the weekend series after the Reds took the first two games.

Last Tuesday night, Burnett flirted with a no-hitter for 7 2/3 innings and pitched a complete game one-hitter in a 5-0 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field the night after the Pirates were hammered 14-4 by Chicago.

This past February, when Pittsburgh acquired the 35 year old Burnett from the Yankees, I didn't think much of it. In fact, I thought Burnett was a washed-up veteran who had seen his best days.

I've never been happier to be so wrong. With the likes of James McDonald and Erik Bedard struggling in recent outings, Burnett has been a life-saver post-All-Star break.

After losing the first two games in Cincinnati, there was, once again, great concern in Bucco Nation that a 2011-type collapse was imminent.

Fortunately, the Pirates got up off the floor yet again and are still alive and well and only 4 1/2 games back of the Reds in the NL Central and 2 1/2 games up in the wild card standings.

What the 2011 team was lacking was a stopper, a life-preserver, to keep them afloat and keep them winning.

With A.J. Burnett going every five days, the 2012 Pirates aren't going to sink any time soon.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Pirates Win 8-4 in Wednesday Afternoon Matinee at Wrigley. Take Two of Three from the Cubs

There has been some slight concern among fans about the play of the Pittsburgh Pirates so far in the second half, and while the Buccos haven't been as hot since the All-Star break, today's 8-4 victory over the Cubs in Chicago means that the team is 12-7 so far in the second half.

That's not a bad stretch of baseball. The Pirates took the last two games against the Cubs after getting blown out Monday evening, 14-4.

Before their fire sale just before the deadline Monday night and into Tuesday--including trading away starting pitchers Paul Maholm and Ryan Dempster--the Cubs were playing some fairly decent baseball recently. But the upheaval to the roster was evident as the Cubs were nearly no-hit Tuesday night by Pirates ace A.J. Burnett and were trailing 8-1 heading into the 9th inning this afternoon before scoring three runs to make things look a little more respectable.

As a Pirates fan, I can certainly relate to watching a struggling team sink to even lower depths after trading whatever credible pieces it had left to contenders in late July.

But that's life as a baseball doormat. Nobody's wiping the feet on the Pittsburgh Pirates these days, and for the second year in a row, they were buyers at the deadline.

I don't know if the additions of Wandy Rodriguez, Travis Snider and Gaby Sanchez will make the 2012 Pirates significantly better, but I do know that they already have a strong enough core in place to ride this thing out until the end.

As of right now, the Pirates are two and half games back of the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central and four and a half games up in the race for one of the two wild card spots.

The Pirates can inch closer to the Reds with their three game series in Cincinnati this weekend. But make no mistake, with 58 games left to play, the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates are here to stay.

Extra Wild Card Spot is Going to Make for a Wild Finish for teams like the Pirates

Even though the Pittsburgh Pirates currently find themselves three games back of the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central Division, they come into today's action tied with the Atlanta Braves atop the wild card standings, four games up on the rest of the league. It's been a while since the Pirates had a four game lead of any importance, and while the division is still the ultimate regular season prize, any chance at the postseason is quite welcome.

And this year, with Major League Baseball adding an extra wild card in each league, the Pirates and Braves aren't necessarily battling one another, they're battling the rest of the league. It provides for a bit of a cushion, and it increases the chances of Pittsburgh making the postseason for the first time in 20 years.

However, in terms of the prospects of an extended postseason run, I'd sure love to see the Pirates overtake the Reds and claim the Central.

For the first 17 seasons of the wild card format, being the wild card team was essentially no different than being a division winner. There were disadvantages in terms of homefield, but at least a team was guaranteed a trip to the LDS (League Division Series) and three postseason games. If there are any football fans out there, that's basically what the NFL wild card was like back in the 70's. Sure, the wild card teams in each conference had to play on the road all throughout the playoffs, but, just like the division winners, they only needed to win two games to make it to the Super Bowl. That all changed in 1978 when the league added a 2nd wild card team in each conference, forcing a wild card playoff game just to get to the divisional round.

And that's how it will be in baseball starting this season thanks to the additional wild card spot. Now, the two wild card teams in each league will have to play a one game "playoff" just to reach the LDS. The extra wild card spot might cause teams and fans to relax a bit down the stretch, and it may have created a seller's market at the trade deadline with so many more teams being in the hunt, but man, it's sure going to make for a tense afternoon for players and fans come "Wild Card Day" immediately following the regular season.

Can you imagine if Pittsburgh had to travel to Atlanta to play their first postseason game since 1992? You talk about returning to the scene of the crime. It would essentially be the same sudden-death Game 7 type of deal as the infamous '92 NLCS. Just imagining the sound of the fans doing the tomahawk chop gives me the creeps.

It sure would add importance to a tie atop the division heading down the stretch. In past years, if two teams were in a heated division race but both were pretty much assured a berth in the League Division Series, how heated could it have been?

Now, winning the division is going to be pretty critical.

And because of the wild card playoff game, will teams have huge celebrations after just clinching one of the two spots? I'd imagine they'd probably save that for after the one game playoff.

And how will it change a team's strategy? I'm guessing a team that is two games out of the 2nd wild card spot in the final week of the season won't be thinking of tomorrow, but neither can any team who clinches a spot. There probably won't be as much thought given to setting up the starting rotation. If A.J. Burnett is available to pitch the wild card game, he has to go. And if he does that and the Pirates win, most likely, you may not see him again until perhaps Game 4 of the LDS.

It's going to be interesting, for sure. And it's going to cause a lot of wild card teams to be at a disadvantage for the LDS. But that's how it should be.

There should be a greater advantage to winning your division.

Still though, having your fate come down to nine innings after a 162 game season? Man, that's a tough one. However, I'm not complaining. I think it adds intrigue. And as a Pirates fan, it's a problem that I hope I'm worrying about come October.

It sure beats the heck out of going for the top pick in June's amateur draft. I've had my fill of those.