Who Woke the Bats Up?

Who woke up the Pirates offense after the all-star break? Whoever it was, what took you so long? The Pirates entered the break with pretty much the worse offense in baseball. It looked like it would be another long and dreadful summer, but the Bucs have come out swinging the sticks to begin the second half of the season.


So far, in six games after the all-star break, the Pirates have scored 50 runs on 77 hits, going 4-2 in that span. That averages out to a major league best 8.3 runs per game and 12.8 hits per game. Looking just at the wins after the break, the Pirates are averaging 11.75 runs and 16.25 hits. While I'm not suggesting we are looking at the 1927 Yankees, it has been a nice change of pace from what we've been used to seeing from the Pirates bats of late.

What's the reason for the hot streak? I don't want to hear that they have been playing bad teams. They have, but those same two bad teams (Houston and Milwaukee) have owned the Pirates up to this point of the season. The main reason for the success is the approach. We haven't seen hitters chasing many balls out of the zone. They've been waiting for good pitches and when they have gotten them, they are putting good swings on the ball.

Another thing I like is that the Pirates have been more aggressive early in the count. They haven't been digging themselves into an 0-2 hole every at bat. They've been jumping on fastballs early, which is a good approach to have for a young team.

Even more impressive is the fact that the Pirates have been hitting well, without the services of Andrew McCutchen, who has missed the last three games nursing a shoulder injury.

Let's take a look at some numbers through the six games after the all-star break.

McCutchen- 4-12 (.333), 3 RBI's before he got hurt.
Jose Tabata- 10-27 (.370), 6 RBI's
Neil Walker- 14-26 (.538), 7 RBI's
Garrett Jones- 6-24 (.250), 1 HR, 5 RBI's.
Pedro Alvarez- 10-24 (.417), 4 HR's, 10 RBI's.
Lastings Milledge- 9-24 (.375), 4 RBI's.
Ronny Cedeno- 10-24 (.417), 2 RBI's.
Delwyn Young- 5-7 (.714), 1 HR, 6 RBI's.

As you can see, everyone other than the catcher platoon of Eric Kratz and Ryan Doumit (combined .192) are hitting well coming out of the break. Not only that, but they are driving in runs and hitting for power. The Bucs have combined for 29 extra base hits in the six games, something that has bee a huge problem all season.

I'm not suggesting that this torrid streak will continue, but it gives you a glimpse at what the Pirates could be capable of. Two things stick out at me. One is the fact that Lastings Milledge is playing everyday. Having a guy hitting a respectable .285 in the middle of the lineup is a major upgrade over Ryan Church (currently hitting .190).

The other thing is that the rookies are starting to become legit major league ball players. They've made the lineup deeper and more effective. It was just 14 games ago that Alvarez was hitting .065. He has quietly got the average up to .259 with 7 HR's and 20 RBI's in just 29 games.

Tabata looks like he is becoming a guy that will be a fixture in left field. He's hitting .266 and has a great approach and a knack for getting on base.

Walker's bat has been the biggest surprise for me, hitting .319. If the youngsters can keep getting on base and coming up with big hits, the rest of the lineup will prosper.

They still have a few holes, but at least for a few game stretch, we may have seen a glimpse of what could be a productive Pirates offense in the future. If they've done anything this last week, they saved John Russell's job for the near future.

Around the Diamond- Part 5- Shortstop

We've been taking a tour around the diamond and today we are at short and Ronny Cedeno.  Cedeno isn't ever going to be a big star, but I'm happy with him at the moment.

He's an upgrade over Jack Wilson, which really isn't saying much, but Cedeno does his job.  Defensively, he is good and he offers a little bit with the bat.  he is currently hitting only .240/4/14.  I'm fine with that though.

He grinds out good at  bats and is consistent in the field.  He doesn't cost you anything by being the everyday shortstop.  The reason I like him is that he is a good 2-3 year stop gap at the position.

Cedeno is a solid pro and should remain the everyday guy for the next year or so.  By then, Chase D'Arnaud should be ready.  D'Arnaud got off to a slow start this season at Altoona, but many consider him to be the best athlete in the organization.  He has raise his average to .225 and his game is gap hitting and speed and he brings that everyday.

The future is D'Arnaud's, but he's about two years away.  Unless the Pirates are smart and draft Manny Machado, then Machado could be the future ss of the Pirates.  Either way, Cedeno is the guy for the next couple of seasons and there is nothing wrong with that.  Shortstop has become the first position that I don't feel the Pirates need to change in the immediate future.

New and Notes After Another Bad Loss

.Well another bad loss, that probably shouldn't have happened. First of all what the hell was with the shift in the third. Ok, i will buy that you shift for Ryan Howard, but with the bases loaded and two outs and two strikes. Naturally the Pirates made it worse by pitching him outside so he has a chance to go the other way.

Not only that, why isn't John Russell shifting Andy Laroche over instead of Ronny Cedeno? Cedeno offers more range on the infield in that situation. Naturally the ball was hit right to where Cedeno would have made an easy play and Laroche had no chance.

Next batter Jason Werth then hits a 3-run HR. Sorry JR, those five runs should have been charged to you. That's bad baseball.

Before I complain about JR some more, you can click HERE to listen to my post-game report for tonight's game.

-More JR bitching. Yesterday vs. the Cubs, down a run in the 9th, why is Delwyn Young pinch hitting against Carlos Marmol instead of Jeff Clement. You're playing for the long ball in that situation and Clement took marmol deep the day before. No guarantee he does it again, but why leave a bullet left in you gun? Again, more bad managing. 

Also, if he was planning on lifting Ross Ohlendorf after one batter in the seventh, then why bother even letting him hit with two runners on?  It's not like he was laboring, having only thrown 73 pitches.  Makes you wonder is Russell has the ability to think ahead during a game.  He hasn't shown it.

This team can lose games on it's own, they don't need the manager losing game for them.

-I am a big Charlie Morton fan, but it's time to send him down to the minors for some tweaking. He has all the tools but something isn't right. Maybe he's tipping pitches or maybe he's throwing to the worst catcher in baseball; though the Pirates would never figure that out. They will keep running him out there to fail. Something has to be done to get this kid back on track. He has shown that he can pitch at the major league level, it's time to get him to be consistent every time out.

-Staring tomorrow, I will start to break down where the Pirates are at the major league level position by position, but it's time to end the Aki Iwumara experiment and bring Neil Walker up and give him and Delwyn Young the majority of the time there. They can do better that 0 for his last 27 and 2 for his last 48. This guy has Freddy Sanchez range at second base which is the same as saying he has no range.

-Minor League Notes. Bryan Morris and his 0.60 era this season has been promoted to Altoona and rumors are he will see AAA before long. Those who bitch about the Bay trade keep forgetting that Morris was the big piece of it. If Morris pans out and Laroche keeps playing well then it was a good deal.

Other minor league note- One of the top prospects in the system, who I love to rave about- Starling Marte will have hand surgery tomorrow and miss 6-8 weeks. It's the same surgery Pedro Alvarez had while at Vandy and he made a full recovery, so there should be no worries.

-Tomorrow I will look at the catcher position, which you Ryan Doumit Hater's will love.  By the way, what was with those throws?  has there ever been a worse throwing catcher?  I can't think of one of the top of my head.

Frustrating Loss to Cardinals

Last night's 4-3 loss to the Cardinals was one of the more frustrating we will probably see all season.  With all of the blowouts and 20-0 beat downs we have witnessed so far this season, last night was probably the first time all season that the Bucs truly gave a game away.

Sure there were two errors, one each by Ronny Cedeno and Andy Laroche that led to three unearned runs against Zach Duke, who otherwise threw a pretty good ballgame.

Sure Chris Capenter threw a good ballgame for the Cardinals, but the Pirates had chances, but couldn't get that extra hit in an inning to cause any damage, leaving 11 runners on base in the process.

Sure Laroche made a huge base running blunder in the 8th that killed what should have been a big inning for the Pirates.

Despite all that, this game should have been won by the Pirates except for one big huge liability- John Freakin Russell.  Good ol' Jr cost them this one.

Two big calls by JR practically ripped a victory away from the Pirates.  First if all in the fifth, with 2 outs, Russell has Laroche in motion and he is thrown out easily trying to steal second.  I didn't like this call at all. Not with Andrew McCutchen up at the plate and Garrett Jones following.  Laroche scores anyway from first on a gap shot with 2 outs.  I will buy the fact that he was trying to get Laroche in scoring position or that even if he was thrown out, Cutch would lead off the next inning, but why risk that there?

All your doing is assuring that your best hitter will be batting with no one on base.  If you have Cutch batting third, let him swing the stick with a runner on base.  Jones has been hot as well.  Instead of a potential two-out rally, Jr ran them out of the inning.  There are times to pick your spots and run that helps win ball games and Russell just hasn't figured that out in three years.

The big blow from Russell came in the 9th though.  After Joe Mather stole second (great slide by Mather, but Aki Iwumara has to make that tag).  With a runner on second and first base open, JR elects to pitch to Yadier Molina.  Molina is a Pirates killer and had already reached base in his first four at bats.  What the hell are they pitching to him there for?  Even when the count got to be 2-0 and then 3-0, I thought for sure they would put him on.  Of course not.  Molina laced the game winning double to right center.

Why in the world is he pitching to him there?  That's just bad baseball and even worse managing and it cost the Pirates a game they should have won.

Examining The Offense

I have many topics I'd like to get into this week and I should get to at least three of them by weeks end.

I put everything else on hold to look at a major problem of this team and that's the offense.  No one has been good, especially the four guys pictured to the left. (if your scoring at home, that's Aki, Jones, Church & Clement)

What have we seen throughout the first month?  We've seen gimmick batting orders- batting the pitcher eighth and your best hitter second.  We've seen many questionable manager decisions from John Russell- running themselves out of many innings, not bunting in bunting situations, the constantly rotating batting order, etc.  However, the blame can't all really be placed on the manager here.  Eventually, the guys on the field have got to start hitting the ball.

The approach is lousy.  I don't know if hitting coach Don Long is the problem or if these guys just aren't getting it.  How many guys not named Aki Iwamura can hit the ball the other way?  Also, can anyone on this team hit a breaking ball?  Everyone of them can be had on a breaking ball that ends up below the knees. I don't know how they ever see fastballs.  Speaking of fastballs, that's the other problem. These guys are just flat-out missing hittable fastballs. Those are pitches that need to be driven.

More problems- there is no power.  Also, every time we actually do get runners on, you can bet someone is going to try and pull a pitch that shouldn't be pulled and hit into a double play.

The main thing that this team is lacking right now is consistency.  I'm talking about consistency from game to game, but I'm also, more importantly talking about consistency from at bat to at bat.  Every single one of these guys have shown at times in the first month that they can do the job at the plate, but nobody can sustain anything positive.

Let's look at some numbers after one month:
-Andrew McCutchen- .288/4Hr/8RBI- Cutch is fine.  Numbers would be better if JR didn't stick him in the 2-hole for much of the first month.  Though I have a minor concern that he's pulling a lot of balls right now-especially with runners on base.

-Lastings Milledge- .233/0/6- I do like his line drive approach.  I'm concerned that there is no power.  He shouldn't be batting third.  I don't totally mind him leading off but he's a 6 or 7 hitter.  I'm very concerned about him swinging at every low breaking ball that he has no chance to hit.  Needs to be more selective.

-Aki Iwamura- .213/2/8- I like the fact that he likes to go the other way.  I don't like the fact that his approach totally changes with runners on.  You get guys on base and this guy will swing at everything and suddenly becomes pull happy.

-Garrett Jones- .221/4/15- I've liked his patience with nobody on.  I don't like that he tries to do to much with guys on base.  That's natural though.  he's just pressing too much.  If he had a bat behind him to protect him then I think the numbers would be better.  I have been concerned with him missing many hittable fastballs of late.

-Ronny Cedeno-.203/2/6-  How bad would his number be if you take out the first 10 games? Golden rule- If you bounce it then Ronny will swing at it.  He's in like a 4-48 slump with no end in sight.  Maybe it's time to say batting the pitcher 8th was a real dumb idea with a guy like Cedeno batting 9th.

-Ryan Doumit-.308/3/12- He's been hot.  You can tell when he's going good when he's hitting the ball to center and left fields (batting left handed).  As much as I don't like him, him hitting well is essential for this team.  If he can stay hot then the lineup become deeper.  Take out a big two week slump and his numbers would be nice.

-Jeff Clement- .171/3/5- I like this guy but he's gotta start producing.  he's been a victim of bad luck, often hitting the ball hard that results in outs.  He also showed a good seven game stretch where he showed what type of bat he could have.  The Pirates desperately need his power, which he has a ton, but he can't live on promise- he has to start hitting consistently.  He can't hit a breaking ball right now and he's gearing up too much for fastballs and over swinging when he gets them.

-Andy Laroche- .323/2/6- He went on a tear when he came back from a stiff back, but how does this guy ever get a hit?  I like Andy a lot and think he could be a decent major leaguer, but this guy pulls everything.  If you have guys on base, he is a rally killer.  He has to start using all fields.  Every ball he hits is going to third or short.  If other teams played a shift on him, he wouldn't ever get a hit.

-Ryan Church- .273/0/4-  Take out the opening day bases loaded double and Church has driven in only one run in close to 50 at bats since.  Russell has continued to bat him between third and fifth in the lineup and he hasn't produced a thing.  He's a true pro which I like, but just like everyone else, he has to start hitting.

-Delwyn Young- .200/0/4-  He wins the Mr. March award for great spring training player.  If Young isn't going to hit then why is he here?  It's certainly not because of his lousy glove.  To his defense, pinch hitting isn't easy, but he's had some starts as well.  his approach is awful.  A guy could throw 10 straight balls out of the strike zone and you can bet that Young will come up and swing at the first three pitches.

-Bobby Crosby-  .265/1/5- Not much to say here except he isn't very good, though he looks like Ty Cobb compared to Cedeno.

-Jason Jaramillo-. 200/1/4- not enough at bats to comment on, but he's a good backup catcher.  Not too much to complain about.

The Pirates are hitting .234 as a team (last in the league). They have hit 22 homers which is tied for eight in the league.  Can you believe the Astros have only hit 9 homers?  The Bucs are next to last in the league with only 86 runs scored.  They have a lousy .310 OBP, also next to last in the league and they are only slugging .363 as a team.

You can see all the offensive problems.  Hopefully this team can get three or four people going at the same time and at the end of May I will have something positive to write.

Time to go back to a Traditional Batting Order

It was kind of fun bashing John Russell the other day so let's do it again. (For everyone that sent emails or text complementing me on the post- Thank You)

What is with the gimmack batting order? I'm tired of this already also.  Let's look at the numbers first. After today's game, the Pirates have scored in exactly seven of their last 60 innings. NOT GOOD.
They have scored three runs or less in ten of their 18 games, and the best one is......... Wait for it.......... They have been outscored 130-62 so far in 18 games.  That's a run differential of -68.  Again, NOT GOOD.

Now, most of the run differential can be attributed to the pitching staff (I will get to them tomorrow), but alot of it is on the offense just as well.

Problem 1- Why is Andrew McCutchen batting second.  I will tell you why, because John Russell wants to make things appear like he is managing this team.  It makes no sense.  By batting Cutch second, you take his aggressiveness away from him.  He's never gonna see a fastball to hit batting second.

Why? Because by batting Cutch second, JR has taken the guessing game away from the other manager.  With a guy on, are they ever going to bunt or hit and run with their best hitter?  Of course they aren't and the other manager knows that.  Therefore, he sees breaking ball after breaking ball with runners on until he gets to a three ball count.  Batting Cutch leadoff, he is naturally going to see more fastballs to hit because the other pitcher doesn't want to walk him, allowing him to steal a base or two.

Cutch's numbers are a little down, but he has had to work hard for what he's gotten so far.  Move him back to the leadoff spot and the numbers will begin to rise again.  Aki Iwamura is a more than capable two-hole hitter.  He can handle the bat.  He is better suited to bat second anyways.  They could take advantage of that ability to lay down bunts and hit and run with him.  I have no idea what the thought process going into batting Aki leadoff and Cutch second.

I don't want to hear about that by batting the pitcher eighth and Ronny Cedeno ninth, Cutch will drive in more runs.  Granted the math supports batting the pitcher eighth if you have an Albert Puljos, Ryan Braun or Ryan Howard.  Last time I checked, the Pirates didn't.

The numbers suggest it isn't working.  Through 18 games, the eighth spot (pitcher) in the order has stranded 32 base runners- nearly 2 a game.  More often than not, lateley; they've come up with men on and two out. In contrast, the 9-1-2 combo that Russell figured would drive in so many more runs have driven in a total of 16 runs- or less than 1 per game and only have 3 RBI's combined in the last 12 games. 

It worked for a short time early, with Ronny Cedeno benefiting the most batting in the ninth spot.  Now that Cedeno has cooled off drastically, combined with Cutch not getting good pitches to hit; it's time to realize that the experiment is flat out not working.

I could also go on about having Ryan Doumit in an RBI spot that he's not capable of producing in, but there isn't many other options for Russell there so i won't go on a rant about that. This apparantly is JR's form of managing, putting people in situations that they are doomed to fail in. 

Put Cutch back in the leadoff spot and Aki in the two hole.  Bat the pitcher ninth.  Andy Laroche will likely benefit from it as well.  Just another reason that John Russell has to go and has to go soon.  Again, Neil Huntington.  Make a change and make it soon

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly of Week 1

Well, it took seven games to get below .500, if you took the over, well then you likely are a winner.  I haven't gotten around to writing much this week because I have been deathly ill (Doctor was unable to determine if the cause of the sickness was due the the Pirates pitching lately, but maybe I need a second opinion).

So after a week, I still have a decent buzz about this team.  Like everyone else, its not nearly the buzz after a 2-0 start, but unlike everyone else, I didn't expect them to win the World Series afer two games.  Good news is the Reds come to town so maybe they can win two out of three at home (a little cheap shot at my friend Michael Hammons Big Red machine)

Well let's get into discussing.

THE GOOD
- Zach Duke's two starts have been somewhat impressive.  I know I'm hard on the guy, but this is the way he should be expected to pitch pretty much everytime out.  Let's hope Duke has a third solid start on Friday.  So far Duke is 2-0 with a 3.00 era in 12.0 ip.  I will take that.

THE BAD
- All other starters have combined for a 12.31 era

THE UGLY
- Daniel Mccutchen's fourth inning in which the D'backs scored a whopping 13 runs. (not all were charged to McCutchen but 9 overall were)

THE GOOD
- Charlie Morton's first 2 innings on Friday in which the first 5 outs came by strike out

THE BAD
-Charlie Morton's third and fourth innings where he continued to fall behind in the count and looked likie a different pitcher.

THE UGLY
- Ryan Doumit calling a lousy game for Morton.  If Adam Laroche said the D'Backs knew what was coming befor Doumit even called it, after the first time threw the order, that's not a good sign of a catcher being able to adjust when calling a game at the MLB level.

THE GOOD
-Octavio Dotel and most of the guys in the bullpen pounded the zone for the most part and showed they can get people out.

THE BAD
-Hayden Penn was lousy in three appearences.  The Dodgers first six batters got hits off penn in his Bucco debut.

THE UGLY
- Have I mentioned Hayden Penn?

THE GOOD
- Garrett Jones three homers in his first five at bats.

THE BAD
- Jones has had only 1 hit the last five games

THE UGLY
- There is no one to protect Jones.  Jones and Ryan Doumit are a combined 1 for their last 27

THE GOOD
- Not Ryan Doumit

THE BAD
-Ryan Doumit

THE UGLY
- Wait for it........ Wait for it....... Did you guess Ryan Doumit?

THE GOOD
-The Pirates have been agressive on the basepaths, going a perfect 8 for 8 swiping bags so far

THE BAD
-When your down 10 runs in half of your games, you can't utilize your speed and run much

THE UGLY
-Ryan Doumit....... I'm sorry, i couldn't resist

THE GOOD
- Aki Iwumura and Ronny Cedeno are off to surprising good starts

THE BAD
-Those are the only two off to good starts.

THE UGLY
-The next time someone gets a big hit with guys on base will be the first since Ryan Church's pinch hit opening day double.  Someone's gotta pick it up.

THE GOOD
- I've been happy so far with both Jeff Clement and Lastings Milledge.  The numbers will improve for both.  It's also encoraging to see the way Milledge is hustling all the time.  A sign of a guy taking things like it's his last opportunity.

THE BAD
- I like batting Milledge in the three hole, but he also must show some power.  He has had some bad luck early. scorching some balls right at people. However, if you bat Milledge third, Somehow, somewhere you have to protect Jones in the lineup or he won't see another good pitch to hit all season.

THE UGLY
- I can't resist.  Ryan Doumit.  He just isn't capable of batting in a run producing spot. With the way Cedeno and Aki have gotten on base early, batting the pitcher #8 isn't that terrible, but Doumit shouldn't be hitting above seventh.  He's lousy (Just watch, after I ripped him to death, he will have a huge game tonight)

FINALLY THE GOOD
- It's only been seven games.  We've got a lot of Bucco baseball to look forward to. (Technically, depending on your perspective, that last statement could also qualify as THE BAD & THE UGLY for you as well)

Take care and I will have something tomoorow as well.  If you haven't yet, go to http://www.lexy.com/ and follow our Pirates broadcat for the year.

Discussion- 2010 Lineup

John Russell has shown his new look lineup the past couple spring games and says it's likely to be the lineup for most of this season.  Biggest things about it is that Aki Iwumara will leadoff while Andrew McCutchen will bat second.  Also the pitcher will bat eighth this season.


Looking at it top to bottom
1. Iwumara 2b
2. McCutchen cf
3. Jones rf
4. Doumit c
5. Milledge lf
6. Clement 1b
7. Laroche 3b
8. Pitcher
9. Cedeno ss

First, do you like Cutch batting in the 2 hole?  If you buy into the theory that the leadoff guy is really only guarenteed to lead off an inning once then I guess it makes sense.  Aki is capable of doing the job in the leadoff spot.  The idea of batting Cedeno 9th is to have have two leadoff hitters batting back to back to get men on base for Cutch and Jones.  If that's the case bat Cutch third. 

You know Cutch won't be sacraficing like many two hole hitters or hitting behind the runner and why should he when he is your best player.  My fear is that there goes any fundamental team baseball the Bucs would play.

Batting the pitcher 8th?  Does it really matter?  Overall I'm not really a huge fan of the constructed lineup, but I don't hate it either. I think they will be solid 1-3.  If Doumit, Milledge and Clement can have decent years then the Bucs could surprise some people and score some runs.

Look, things weren't working the traditional way so it can't hurt to try something new.  Your thoughts?

Around the Diamond- Shortstop

Here could be one of the true battles in camp for playing time. Ronny Cedeno is pencilled in as the starter, but don't be surprised to see free agent signee Bobby Crosby to steal some playing time.  Cedeno is the much better defensive shortstop, but Crosby has been a hot topic of camp so far.

His bat has been very good.  That's more likely a sign that he will be a candidate for Mr. March instead of a good season though. After winning the 2004 American League Rookie of the Year, the 30-year old Crosby hasn't come close to a productive season since.  He has only hit above .240 once since then and after his 22 homer rookie season, he has yet to return to double digits.  Much of that has been due to injury, but maybe he's healthy and can be productive for the Bucs.

Crosby is the type of low risk- high reward signing that Neil Huntington has made during his first three years on the job.  There's nothing wrong with that approach.  If he pans out then great, if not then no big loss to the organization.

I'd still like to see what Cedeno can do playing everyday, but having Crosby around could turn into a good thing.  Argenis Diaz has been sent to AAA, but there is a small chance he could get a look this season.  His glove is very smooth, but his bat is severly lacking (sounds like a shortstop that was around for the last decade).

Position Grade Compared to the rest of the League- D-  -Very unproven and looks to be light hitting.  One of these guys needs to step up and put a stranglehold on the job and hopefully have a good season.  Not much offensive help in the minors either, but what I want most from whoever gets the job is to simply catch the ball.

If you are keeping track.  Here are the grades so far. Not too promising on paper.
Catcher- C
First base- D-
Second Base- C+
Third Base- C+
Shortstop- D-

Pirates Out of Options

I got an email a few weeks ago froma reader who asked "Why can't the Pirates just send guys like Brandon Moss and Delwyn Young to the minors and recall them when the team needs them?"

The answer is simple, both guys are out of minor league options and would have to clear waivers before they could be outrighted to the minor leagues.  Some team would surely claim them and while they haven't lit the world on fire as members of the Pirates, both have shown that they have talent and no team wants to give up on talented players too soon.

Here is a list of the other Buccos that are out of options: Moss, Young, Andy Laroche, Joel Hanrahan and Ronny Cedeno.  All would have to clear waivers before being sent to the minors.  A more likely option would be for the Bucs to deal one of them for a small return, in the event they have given up on them.

Bucs close out Homestand in Grand Fashion

After beginning the 9 game home stand 5-1, the Bucs welcomed the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies into town. I for one was happy with the 5-1 start, but really wanted to see how the young Bucs would fare against a better team.

What I was treated to was 3 great games and 3 great finishes, 2 going our Bucco's way. What could possibly have been more exciting than Tuesday's finish. Matt Capps blows another. Andrew McCutchen's misplay in center. Three batters later it was all forgotten, after Cutch hit his first walk-off homer off Brad Lidge.

Wednesday, the Bucs bats were silenced by Cole Hamels through 8, but a Brandon Moss pinch hit 9th inning bomb sent the game to extras, only to see Ryan Howard launch one and spoil the Bucs comeback.

Finally, last night. Aside from Cutch's lead off homer, fellow rookie J.A. Happ silenced the Bucs bats once again. Only to see Ronny Cedeno go the other way with a pinch hit single, followed by Garrett Jones 2 out homer to center. Capps didn't blow this one and the crowd went crazy again. Three straight lively crowds. Many Phillies fans, but still, an exciting baseball environment. The Phillies and Pirates should be in the same division, but I will save that for a later post. No reason a cross state rival should come to town only once a season.

I really enjoy watching this bunch. They have an energy and enthusiasm about them that simply just hasn't been there in years. I love the emotion they have been showing. Part of the reason is they have been winning during this home stand, but another part is that they are realizing that it's now their team. They have started to realize that they are the Pirates of the future and are starting to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. It's been fun to watch and I hope it continues. A couple added pieces and they can start to be competitive. They still need a run producer in the middle of the order. Not only for now, but to pair with Pedro Alvarez in the near future.

Why have they been playing well lately? It's certainly not entirely due to the fact that they seem like a fun bunch out there. They still have to get it done between the lines as well. First let's look at the starting pitching the last 3 games. Ross Ohlendorf, 6.1 ip, 5 h 2er 6k 3 bb in a 6-4 win. Paul Maholm, 7ip, 5h, 1er, 4k, 2bb in a 4-1 loss and last night Charlie Morton 6ip, 5 h, 2er, 6k, 4bb in a 3-2 win.

The trend is that every guy has put the team in position to win each night. I'd like to see Ohlendorf and Morton pitch into the seventh, but all three were effective enough to get wins. Even when it looked like Morton was going to struggle last night, he kept pitching his way out of trouble. It's a sign of a young guy growing up in the big leagues.

The bullpen for the most part was effective as well. Take out the Capps ninth on Tuesday and the tenth on Wednesday and the Bucs young relievers got some big outs. That's what they need to do. Jessie Chavez striking out Jason Werth in a tough spot on Tuesday was huge, as was the performance by Denny Bautista last night. Even Joel Hanrahan impressed me getting out of a 0 out 2nd & 3rd jam on Wednesday. The thing I want to see from both the starters and the pen the rest of the season is simple- consistency.

The bats were quiet for the most part during the whole Phillies series, but they battled. That's what I have been wanting to see. The pitching kept them in the games and they were able to get some timely, late hits. I'd like to see the approach for the guys stay the same. Keep thinking opposite field.

Home stand is over, time to head to Milwaukee, where the Bucs have lost 18 in a row. Time to keep ridding the franchise of the losing culture an go up there and win. This young team must learn to win on the road and I can't think of a better place than Miller Park.

NOTES

- The defense impressed all home stand. Give Luis Cruz some credit filling in for Cedeno. The team didn't miss a beat in the field.

-Great job by the bench, Moss in particular. Moss, Cedeno and Bixler did good things off the bench. It's not just the fact that Moss had two pinch hits, including the homer. Give him credit for being a pro. It could be easy for this guy to be down on himself, losing a lot of playing time, but he went to the plate and did good things for the team.

-Andy Laroche has been a bit snake bitten of late. He's been hitting the ball hard, but no results. Keep the same approach Andy. They will start falling in.

-No-Mitt (doumit) is still driving me crazy behind the plate.

-Steve Pearce is becoming a nice first baseman defensively. The bat is coming around a bit, but I still don't see him playing everyday.

-One thought about Wednesday's loss. I would like to see JR play the numbers more, Pitch to Howard, who granted has been struggling against the Bucs. When it was happening, I was shocked he wasn't being walked to load the bases for Werth. Werth before the at bat was 1-11 in the series and a double play candidate. Just a thought.

- I also have not been disappointed in the play of Lastings Milledge. The homers will come, as we saw 2 this home stand. That has something to so with him batting 6th. I just always thought he was faster, but he has slowly gotten better in the outfield.

-Only disappointing part of the last series was the performance with runners in scoring position. A feeble 1-24, with the only hit being McCutchen's walk-off, Tuesday night.

-For all of you payroll guys out there. How about the Mets have more than twice the salary on the DL today (88 mil) than the Pirates total payroll (35mil ish).

-Zach Duke vs Manny Parra tonight. Let's Go Bucs.

Where is the O?

During this rain delay I had time to do a lot of writing and thinking about this team. It's not a real good time for casual Pirates fans, but the real baseball fans need to just stick with it. I will be the first to admit that the last six games had me frustrated as hell watching the now feeble offense. Getting shut down by Gorzelanny yesterday was just as bad as the 17-2 beat down the day before. Leaving me with the question of, Where is the offense?

The answer is easy, it is mostly all at West Virginia and Altoona, but in the meantime, it would be nice to see these guys go out and at least battle. What happened to the patience and the solid approaches they had been taking at the plate all season? It's now become a collection of light hitting guys that are swinging for the fences and that approach simply never works. Remember that they are the youngest team in baseball and bad swings like this will happen. Better to happen now while they have nothing to play for. However, to me, these are the times when these guys can gain valuable experience and become major league hitters.

Let's take a look at the last 5 games. Tuesday started with a 7-3 win at Colorado and they had a good approach as a team. They had 11 hits, while drawing 9 walks. Seven of the hits went for extra bases and they stole 6 bases. They still struck out seven times, but on six of them the batters worked a full count. After that, you see the results drastically change, as did the teams approach at the plate. Wednesday's 8-0 loss to the Rockies saw the Bucs get only 4 hits and 5 bb's. No extra base hits, while fanning 8 times. Thursday the Rocks hammered the Bucs 10-1. The Bucs garnered only 3H and 3BB's. One extra base hit and 9k's.

Onto Chicago they went Friday and a 17-2 beating occurred. Offensively, they had 7 H and only 3bb's. Again only 1 extra base hit while 7 k's. Yesterday's 3-1 defeat, they showed even less patience, swinging at everything. Only 5 hits and 3bb's. One extra base hit and a whopping 13k's. You can see a theme and a pattern going on here. The Pirates are awful when they are a free swinging team. Including their win this week, they are batting .178 as a team. In the 4 straight losses, the have had a total of 21 hits and only drew 14 bb. Only 3 extra base hits, while striking out 37 times. They haven't stole a base in the 4 losses, after stealing 6 in the win. You can't be aggressive on the bases when guys aren't getting on base frequently.

I will address the power problem first. I have heard all the time lately that the guys brought over in deals aren't hitting for power. Mostly people are talking about Moss, Milledge and Laroche. I'm not worried about the home runs. Any hitting coachin the majors will tell you that the power will come. Young hitters have alot to do when they get to the majors. They basically have to learn how to hit. The biggest jump is between AAA and MLB. They have a lot to worry about at the plate. Picking out pitches to hit, picking out pitches to lay off, recognizing what the pitcher is doing to them, learning to go the other way, situational hitting, etc. Basically, learning how to have quality MLB at bats every time to the plate. Major league pitching can't be duplicated in the minors. Only the real special players can make a flawless transition to the majors. I'm confident the homers will come, especially from Laroche and possibly Milledge.

My problem is none of those 3 guys, or anyone else in the lineup is having consistent quality at bats right now. No one on the team is driving the ball, using the gaps. Everyone in the lineup has become pull happy. That's not a good approach for young hitters to take, ever. That's not the approach for veteran hitters either. I don't know if hitting coach Don Long isn't getting the message through, which I doubt, because when things are going good, everyone shows what they can do at the plate. I feel the pressure of losing is getting to these guys.

I also feel changes are needed although i wouldn't panic to make them since this team isn't going anywhere. Steve Pearce is not any everyday big league player. Bring up Clement and get him some at bats. He has nothing more to offer a AAA team and from what I hear, his defense hasn't been that bad. Keep Pearce up though, there are worse bench players around. Another option that could be considered is to bring Pedro Alvarez up. Get him some at bats at the MLB level. He has put it together at AA. He is hitting .350 at Altoona, hitting with power and drawing walks. I'd leave Young and Cedeno where they are. They are beginning to look solid up the middle. I'm also still a fan of Laroche at third.

In the outfield, I pretty much leave it the same. Milledge will be fine, but has to learn how to play left field. On a side note, Why do the Pirates continue to play defensively on the road like they are at PNC Park. I hate having the left fielder play well in the left center field gap all the time. They get killed on balls down the line. Milledge doesn't cover as much ground as Nyjer Morgan did, you would think they would adjust the outfield alignment. especially with the amount of ground McCutchen can cover in center. Suddenly we can't catch a cold in the outfield.

I would drop Milledge down to sixth in the order though. Put him in a spot where he can succeed and possibly some RBI spots. Cedeno would be a much better 2 hole hitter. He just handles the bat better. Not everyone can hit in the second spot of the order. Drop Milledge down now.

Starting today it would be nice to see the Bucs battle everyday at the plate. Go down fighting at least. Being aggressive doesn't mean swinging at everything. They have a much better team than they have shown this month. it would be nice to be able to go out and play spoiler for teams like the Cubs and Brewers. No more tanking it, it's getting painful to watch.

Notes
-Not to many since we haven't done anything of note lately, but you have to feel a little bad for Duke. He could easily have 15 wins this season. Every year though there is a guy who doesn't get run support and this year it's Zach.

- Have you noticed that Ohlendorff velocity has been back his last couple of starts. Having Joe Kerrigan around has been valuable to some of these guys. Tweaking the wind up and Ross's fastball has been backup to the 94-96mph range. He still has to find a way to be able to pitch the 3rd time through the order. He needs a second out pitch.

- I'm about tired of watching Moss come out of his shoes swinging for the fence. He is one guy that needs to simplify his approach.

- Not much good can come out of a 17-2 loss, but give Steven Jackson some credit for taking one for the team. He tossed 4.1 innings of scoreless relief, saving the bullpen.

-Give Pirates management credit for applying the resources they have in the right places. They have signed all top 10 of their draft picks and their aggressive approach has been noticed around baseball. They have drawn several compliments around baseball. It's a very good sign for the franchise's future.

A Tale of Two Teams

I haven't had a chance to post in a week, but I have some time now and what I watched the last two nights wasn't close to the same team. On Tuesday, we saw a young, energetic, aggressive team that was fun to watch. Patient at the plate, aggressive on the base paths, taking advantage of opportunities, timely hitting and good defense. Good pitching, (even the bullpen) and an overall team performance that was fun to watch. The Bucs broke their losing streak and even manged to win a game on the road. I was happy going to bed on Tuesday.

Last night, however; my mood changed totally after watching the miserable performance the Bucs displayed. Pretty much the same line up, but a totally different team. Granted, Ubaldo Jimenez was very good, but the Bucs made it easy on him. Let's start offensively, where was the approach from the night before? The same team that worked the count all game was gone. The same team that had a good opposite field approach was gone. The same team that utilizes both gaps was gone. Yes, a mere 24 hours later, we saw a free swinging, swing for the fences type of team that hasn't been winning lately. When the Bucs offense struggles, they are a very boring team to watch.

It's truly nothing to panic about though. They are a young team. They are going to be very inconsistent. Unfortunately, that tends to show on the offensive end of things. The don't have much power so to score runs, they rely on several guys having to hit well in the same day. The important thing is that these guys that are going to be around keep getting their at bats and get a whole season under their belt.

NOTES

- I thought Hart threw well last night, at least through 5. He has good enough stuff and the pitches he got beat on were actually good pitches. He seems to have the mental make up of a top of the rotation guy, which is always a good thing. I would like to see him get strike one more often though,

-Meek lands on 15 day DL. Probably a good thing. I like Meek's arm a lot, but suddenly with Meek, Chavez, Hanrahan, Capps, etc., the Bucs suddenly have too many of the same style of pitcher in their pen. Power arm, live fastball, suspect breaking stuff.

-With the Pirates, Lastings Milledge is hitting around .280, which is fine. I need some power and speed though. That seems to be a problem with many of the younger acquisitions of late. The power just hasn't come out. I will break down Milledge tomorrow in a new post.

- Why can't Jones seem to hit with guys on base? He tears the cover off the ball with the bases empty. His 12 Hr is a nice number, but I would like to see more than the 20 RBI's. I believe he has driven in only 4 runs that haven't come by the long ball and 9 of his 12Hr's have been solo shots. I like Jones a ton, but if he is going to be a middle of the order type hitter, he has to perform like it. Middle of the order guys drive in runs.

- Is anyone else tired of watching Ryan No-Mitt catch. I am. I hate how he calls a game. He doesn't block balls well and he has a below average arm. How many more times do I have to watch him call 3 straight fastballs in the same location then seeing the third one blistered. If that's not bad enough, where has that bat been. I have never been convinced that Doumit is an everyday player, especially behind the dish. he is a middle of the order rally killer and I would hope they consider dealing him in the off season. he has shown me nothing in the last 4 seasons to warrant sticking around.

- Piraes Fans have to love Cedeno at short. The right side of the infield in still excellent defensively. Cedeno and Laroche are fabulous with the glove and Young is looking more comfortable at second. I also like Pearce's glove at first.......BUT

- Let's end the Steve Pearce experiment. Keep him as a bench player though. Either make Jones the everyday first baseman or let's get a look at Clement, who is hitting very well at Indy.

-McCutchen is a flat out stud. I like what I saw on Tuesday. The only thing I have wanted to see more out of him is for Cutch to be more aggressive on the base paths. he picked his spots and stole 3 bases easily. He is improving in every aspect of his game every day. It just means he is becoming a complete ball player, one day at a time.

- What this team lacks is a leader. No disrespect to Ramon Vasquez or even No-Mitt, but they need a leader, or several; especially when things are going bad.

-Check back tomorrow for a story on Milledge and this weekend I will have my minor league report. Let's Go Bucs