Monkey Off the Back

It seemed strange when it was shown during the game that it was a year ago today that Jeff Karstens hit Ryan Braun and caused the Dave Kerwin affair of 2009. And today, one year later, Karstens was summoned from the minor leagues to help lead the Pirates rotation to some form of stability. Karstens did just that, pitching very effectively and giving the bullpen a bit of a rest.

Despite the strong performance from Karstens, the team needed to stage a comeback against Trevor Hoffman. Granted Hoffman has not been the same so far this year, but he is still Hoffman and this is Brewers vs. Pirates. Ronny Cedeno jumped on a pitch early to tie it up. Then a hits by Andy LaRoche, Lastings Milledge and a walk to Garrett Jones, loaded the bases for Ryan Doumit. Doumit promptly took the 2-0 pitch from Hoffman and hit it a mile for a game winning grand slam.

You could see in the faces of the Pirates' players a real sense of relief when the game was coming to a close and at the end of the game. It may only be one game, but to the guys in that dugout that have been around for a awhile, it may have seemed like the day that would never come. The monkey is now off the back.