Before I get into last night's game, I have to address the comments made by former Bucco Sean Burnett. He said, "We (Nyjer and him) saw this coming. They are the laughing stock of baseball." My initial reaction was "Who the F@#K are you."
Reality check to Mr. Burnett. YOU were part of the problem and the losing culture here as well. YOU were the guy that was a first round pick that never realized his potential. While not a huge part, you were still part of the problems which initiated all the moves to begin with. I will give credit when credit is due, you have become a decent lefty out of the pen, but you did nothing here except under achieve.
As far as the laughing stock comment, another reality check. Look at the name on YOUR jersey, that is if it is even spelled right. Yeah buddy, you play for the 30 win Nats and you have the balls to call out other franchises. Right now you are as low as you can be. At least the Bucs are taking the right steps to TRY and have a winning future. What have the Nats done, other than drafting Steven Strausberg, who they probably won't even sign. The future is alot brighter here then it is in Washington so you should probably keep your mouth shut.
By no means am I saying this franchise is in good shape. We will be a laughing stock until we start winning. However, for a guy like Burnett to criticize the Bucs, when he is in a far worse situation is ridiculous. He Sean, I will give you something to laugh at...........your career.
As far as the performance last night, I was excited. The lineup wasn't bad. it was no worse than it was before the deals, in fact I may like it better. Nice debut for Milledge and Cedeno. Also good for Pearce, starting to hit the ball with authority. maybe getting Clement lit a fire under him. A nice start by Ohlendorff as well. The only guy that was disappointing was Hanrahan. I think some of it was due to playing his former team.
The thing I noticed is that there was an extra step to these guys last night. A lot more energy out of the guys and they were having fun. They are definitely a more athletic team and will be fun to watch the rest of the season.
NOTES
-Andy Laroche is quietly becoming an excellent defensive third baseman.
- Fine job by Evan meek and Jessie Chavez getting big outs in big spots.
-Funny that Garrett Jones is the team leader in homers with 10, despite only being up for a month. The RBI leader is Andy Laroche with 38.
-Newly acquired Jeff Clement homered in his first two AB's at Indy.
-Tim Alderson goes tonight for Altoona
-Virgil Vasquez goes tonight for the Bucs, but expect it to be the last time. Kevin Hart will pitch on Wed.
-If you noticed, Nyjer Morgan is still a lousy base runner, getting picked off AGAIN by a right handed pitcher
extremely well said. both about burnette and the new look of the team
ReplyDeletei hope we pound that prick if he comes in tonight. newsflash... there are many sean burnett's in mlb. he is nothing special
ReplyDeleteanother good post. you are going to have to post more frequently. the other blog i read, the guy is apparantly now a Rays fan. Let's go Bucs
ReplyDeletewe need to start winning to be taken seriously, but getting caled out by Burnett and the Nats is not acceptable.
ReplyDeleteGlad you mentioned the job Meek did last night, I thought he was huge.
i was at the game last night also and I came away saying the same things you said. These guys had a spark and a jump about them that hasn't been there all season. The offense will stuggle at times and there still isn't power right now, but I'd rather watch this group then the prior group of players. It will be fun to add to this group.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your grade for the N.H. rebuild. I love it and I'd say A-. Also any Sano news? That would push it to an A for me if we sign him.
To answer your second question, no news on Sano and I expect him not to sign until the very last day. He will go for the highest offer and that better be the Pirates offering it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as grading the rebuild, I am gonna be writing that in the next couple days so check back, but my grade isn't an A, but it is positive.
How can you guys like our lineup better with no Mclouth, Morgan, Sanchez, Wilson or Laroche. We aren't half the team we were at the beginning of the season.
ReplyDeleteSomeone above mentioned he is now a Rays fan, well i may join him
well don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. For you to say that the Bucs were better off with the traded players is foolish. We have as much talent at the MLB level now and way more in the minors
ReplyDeleteTo address the guy 2 up that is going to become a Rays fan. Where were the Rays before last season and who do you think Huntington modeled his rebuild after?
ReplyDeleteTo look at the lineup pre and post trade, I guess you could make an argument for the pre trade lineup, just not a good one. I'm writing that now but look
c Doumit (same)
1b Laroche/ Pearce (edge laroche)
2b sanchez/Young (push were talking offense and the numbers are similar)
ss Wilson/Cedeno (push. they are about the same player)
lf Morgan/Milledge (advantage Milledge. morgan is not a great ball player)
cf mclouth/McCutchen (advantage Mccuthen. Bitch all you want, but Cutch is flat out a better player)
rf Moss/Jones (advantage jones.)
defensively is a different story, but this lineup will be about the same as the last lineup if not a little bit better
I forgot Laroche at 3B but you get the point
ReplyDeleteI agree with your breakdown of the lineup and I may make a case for Pearce/Jones/Clement having an advantage over Adam laroche as well
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the season I will agree with you and you will likely be right. I just based that right now.
ReplyDeletei wouldn't go as far as to say Mcutchen is way better than mclouth. He is better though and that's the point. he will also be way better than Mclouth by this point next season.
ReplyDeleteYou know what you get with Mclouth, a pretty solid player. With Cutch, you get a possible superstar. Let's see should we have kept a pretty good player to block the Supertar in waiting?
I don't think so. time to quit crying about the trades. All were good baseball trades
it would be nice if big mouth burnett's comments motivated them and they went on a semi tear. everyone else in the nation has the same opinion, so it would be good to shut people up
ReplyDeletef@@k sean burnett. there are hundred's of sean burnett's. he is nothing special at all and should keep his damn mouth shut
ReplyDeleteif we want to shut people up, we need to win consistently. if we want to shut burnett up, just let him pitch
ReplyDeleteHey, do you know where I can get a tape of the show "Sports Sunday?" It ran on WVBC from 1993-1997 and the announcers were great. This one show they talked about Emmitt Smith for literally 2 hours in a row. They also had the guts to admit that Zane Smith's horse-teeth limited his endorsement opportunities.
ReplyDeleteHa Ha. That's great. I do indeed have tapes still of Sports Sunday. Talk about the good old tmes.
ReplyDeleteSince you guys were talking about radio, I have been wanting to ask. Are you the same Matt Shetler that was on Pittsburgh radio last year. I believe it was on 660am. I really liked your show and listened all the time and then one day you weren't on and the replacements were garbage and I quit listening. Any chance that you return to radio soon?
ReplyDeleteThe "Johnny Mac" guy was the best announcer I ever heard. He was so brilliant it makes my head spin. But you could practically smell the "Boones Farm" on their breath.
ReplyDeleteActually that is me. I'm glad you enjoyed the show while I was on. I had to leave there. Combination of horrible boss and not enough money. As far as appearing on radio again, I enjoy working in baseball right now, but anything can happen and I'm sure I may look at radio soon, however it would probably have to be in a different market. There aren't many quality radio jobs in Pittsburgh right now.
ReplyDeleteTo the Sports Sunday comment. I'm hoping you were John. If so, I have been trying to get in touch with you for a couple years. send me an email.
matt, email sent.
ReplyDeletecan u believe that piece of garbage picked up the W today. We better win tomorrow. i couldn't stand splitting a series with the Nats
ReplyDeleteBy the way if you watched the game today. Nyjer Morgan picked off yet again. This guy is a joke running the bases. he guesses every time. I can't believe pitchers ever go to the plate. keep throwing over and you would be guarenteed to pick him off eventually
ReplyDelete