Great Games: King Goes Deep Twice in the Same Inning (Again)

Jeff King has the distinction of being the only Pirate to homer twice in the same inning twice. The last time he was able to do was in late April of 1996 at Riverfront Stadium. The pitching match up featured two pitchers that were traded for each other the Pirates budding staff ace, Denny Neagle, was going up against John Smiley. The lineups for the game looked like this as the Bucs and Reds squared off:

Pittsburgh			Cincinnati
Carlos Garcia	2B		Eric Owens	LF
Al Martin	LF		Hal Morris	1B
Jeff King	1B		Barry Larkin	SS
Orlando Merced	RF		Eric Davis	CF
Jay Bell	SS		Chris Sabo	3B
Jacob Brumfield	CF		Bret Boone	2B
Charlie Hayes	3B		Eric Anthony	RF
Jason Kendall	C		Joe Oliver	C
Denny Neagle	P		John Smiley	P

The game would be scoreless through 2 and a third, until the Reds came to the plate in the bottom of the third inning. Three straight singles by Smiley, Owens, and Morris, would lead to a Barry Larkin sacrifice fly to score John Smiley to make it 1-0 Reds.

The Pirate 4th would see an offensive explosion from the Buccos. Jeff King led off the inning with his first home run, a solo shot. Orlando Merced then walked, followed by a Jay Bell single. Merced got thrown out at thrid, but Bell took second on the throw. Jacob Brumfield then lined a double to left and Bell scored. Charlie Hayes was intentionally walked to face the rookie Kendall. Kendall was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Neagle.

Neagle hit a sac fly to left to score Brumfield. Hayes would score on a Carlos Garcia base hit and a Al Martin walk would load the bases again for King. He would not face Smiley this time, as the Reds called on Tim Pugh from the pen. The result was the same, a King home run, this time a grand slam. Orlando Merced followed with a solo home run to finish the offensive onslaught of 9 runs on 6 hits.

Bret Boone would homer in the bottom of the inning and Vince Coleman would score after a lead off pinch hit triple in the 5th on a Eric Davis single.

In the Reds' 7th, Jon Lieber would relieve Neagle after Eric Owens led off with a single and was sacrificed to second. Lieber would allow Owens to score on an Eric Davis single, but Leyland then called on Dan Plesac to strike out the side to end the threat. As the score was now 10-5.

In the Pirates 8th, the Bucs had a rally going against Chuck McElroy, but Al Martin spoiled it by getting thrown out at home on a Mike Kingery infield fielder's choice.

In the bottom of the 8th, Plesac gave up a three run home run to Hal Morris, which prompted the Bucs to go to the young Francisco Cordova to take the rest of the game. Cordove would get the next four outs, even getting a hit off Jeff Brantley in the 9th to secure the win.

Neagle would go to 3-1 on the young season and Francisco Cordova picked up his first major league save.

The story of the game was Jeff King, who had now hit 2 home runs in an inning twice. He had done it the previous season in San Francisco. King, when healthy, had some pretty good pop in his bat. Add that to the fact that he played quiet a few positions and he was a pretty versatile and valuable player. Unfortunately, his Pirate days were numbered, as he would get dealt to the Royals in the coming off-season with Jay Bell. But with this game, King earned himself a special place in Bucco history.

2010 Draft Review: Part 2

Chris Kirsch 6’3 185 LHP Marple Newtown HS, PA
Drafted: 13th Round (#387)
Commitment: Has offer to play at Pensacola Junior College

Though not exactly known as a baseball hot bed, Pennsylvania seemed to have a pretty good crop of potential prospects this year though most of them seemed to be in the eastern part of the state. Of the group of prospects, Chris Kirsch seems to fall into that second tier group of players. Much like 4th round pick Nick Kingham, Kirsch seems to have made a late arrival in the scouting circles and after moving around to different positions the last few seasons he’s finally settled in as one of the best lefties in Pennsylvania.

Strengths: He has that good, projectable frame that scouts seem to love and he can touch 90 MPH with his FB.

Area for Improvement: Is still very raw after moving around and playing so many different positions. Even though he’s settled into pitching he’s had to rework his mechanics and is still learning the art of pitching.

Overview: He’s one of the only prep lefties that the Pirates drafted this year so he’s intriguing for a team that isn’t exactly loaded with lefties in their system. If signed he would be more of a developmental project for the team but he could benefit greatly from professional coaching since he already has the size and the pure stuff, it’s just a matter of him getting innings.

Chance of Signing: I’m going to give a 60% chance they sign him since he doesn’t seem to have a ton of college options. I think a fair bonus offer could get the job done.

Dillon Haviland 6’2 190 LHP South Fayette HS, PA
Drafted: 48th Round (#1437)
Commitment: Duke

Keeping with prep lefties and players from Pennsylvania, Haviland is perhaps one of the most talented players this year from the Pittsburgh area. It seems like every year the Pirates take a late flier on a local kid who ends up going on to college (Robert Revesz of Grove City in 2007 and Scott McGough of Plum in 2008). Coming into the 2010 HS season, it looked like Haviland could be taken in the first 15 rounds but a solid commitment to Duke may have scared off a lot of teams.

Strengths: He has a good arm and can push his FB up into the high 80’s.

Area for Improvement: He’ll more than likely be a 2 way player in college, but if he could concentrate on pitching full time he could be something special.

Overview: He’s a very good HS player but not the high level type of prospect that an organization invests a lot of money in at this stage. He’s said that he would sign if a team was willing to give him enough so that he could still go and get his degree from Duke. The talent is there so I would expect to see him show up on a prospect watch list leading up to the 2013 draft.

Chance of Signing: Really the only way I see him signing is if the Pirates strike out on a lot of their top draft picks, which I don’t see happening. I hate to say that there is no chance that the Pirates will sign him since they could end up proving me wrong. So I’ll go with a 1% chance that the Pirates sign him.

Finally It Is Over

It sure as heck seemed to be forever and lifetime, since the Pirates last won a game, especially on the road. Those 17 games on the road seemed to last forever, but now there can be a sigh of relief as the Bucs were able to take one from the Cubs to break up that long spell.

The key to this game was definitely the pitching of Paul Maholm. Maholm went a rather efficient 8 innings, throwing 101 pitches and not walking anyone. He definitely had the command and control of his pitches tonight against the Cubs. It is good for Maholm to get a start like this one, especially after his horrible start in the Lone Star State.

Another player that was in the thick of it, was Jose Tabata. He scored on an Andrew McCutchen triple and drove in the winning run in the top of the ninth. Tabata has not had the easiest of times coming up to the majors, there has been some struggles, but there has also been plenty of successes that he can build upon.

Despite the team coming out on top tonight, it had the look of your typical Pirates game. There was the error by Alvarez, allowing the Cubs to get on the board. The collision of Crosby and Milledge, in such a short period of time after the Neil Walker collision, screamed of the Pirates' type of luck.

Fortunately for the club, they were able to over come these issues and get the W. What if they can win two in a row on the road? I understand Rome was not built in a day, but we can dream can't we?

How Many Ways Can This Happen?

Typically you would think that one could create a template to describe how the Pirates lost a game. So and so did not pitch well or the offense could not get a hit. This current Pirate team is breaking the mold for every way of losing. I don't know if any other team has a lost a game on a base hit. Yes they lost on a base hit.

One can look and say that Jose Tabata hitting Pedro Alvarez did not lose the game. No that would be the dropped ball by McCutchen, the throwing error on Ohlendorf or the dropped pop up by Jaramillo. It really does not matter, as the punch line is that they lost the game on a hit, by a Pirate, not by an Oakland player.

Words can seemingly not do justice to what we are seeing take place. The streak of losing on the road is bordering on epic. The performance in the month June, historic. What makes it all even worse, is that there is not one thing to look to and say that is why it is happening.

We can only wish that the problem would be with just starting pitching. That would provide for an easy fix, getting better starting pitching. No, instead we have issues all over the place, with multiple players. With that broad swath of problems across the roster, I think we are finding that the problems with the team are perhaps worse than many had expected.

This Week on the Farm

A bit of a different look this week. It is more of a time saver for me.

Team of the Week: Altoona Curve
Hitter of the Week: Brandon Moss, Indianapolis
Pitcher of the Week: Jeff Locke, Bradenton

Indianapolis: 4-3 For the Week

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Kratz	7	7	1	0	2	5	3	2	Continues strong performance
Pearce	6	8	2	0	0	4	5	6	Nice work on rehab
Clement	4	5	3	0	1	6	3	12	Look at those K's
Moss	4	7	1	0	2	8	4	8	Led team in RBI
Negrych	5	9	1	0	0	1	4	3	Led team in hits

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Jackson, S	3	3	0	0	0	2				Pitched well prior to recall
Machi, J	3	0	0	0	0	4	1
Thomas, J	3.2	4	0	0	0	5
McCutchen	7	6	2	2	1	4		1		Could get call up
Crotta	5	8	1	1	0	1
Penn	6	4	1	0	3	9	1			Starting to work things out
Morton	14	8	4	4	4	9	1			Pitched CG on Thurs.
Burres	9.2	10	9	9	3	9		1		Not good

Altoona: 6-0 On the Week

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Mercer	0	7	0	0	0	6	0	1	Led team in RBI
Presley	6	8	1	1	0	3	5	0	Last week at AA
Harrison	4	9	3	1	0	5	1	1	Team leading 5 hits
Hague	4	7	1	0	0	3	3	1
d'Arnaud	5	5	0	0	1	2	4	4	Adds another home run

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Moskos	2.1	0	0	0	0	3			3	Last week at AA
Sues	3.2	5	0	0	3	1				Closer again?
Hughes	14	14	5	4	2	11	2			2 wins, ton of K's
Dubee	2	1	0	0	0	0	1
Alderson	7	9	2	2	1	4	1			Consistency
Watson, T	3	1	0	0	0	6			1	Potential closer?
Owens	7	3	1	1	0	5				Hard luck ND
Wilson, J	6.2	4	2	2	1	3				Hard luck ND
Morris, B	6.2	6	1	1	3	4	1			Another win, few K's

Bradenton: 5-2 On Week

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO
Grossman	4	3	2	0	0	0	9	5	Racked up a bunch of walks
McClune	2	6	1	0	1	4	1	3	6 hits and a homer
Sanchez	2	4	1	0	1	2	0	1	Will be missed in lineup
Latimore	6	7	2	0	1	3	3	4	Tied for hits on week
Anderson	1	7	0	0	1	6	2	8	Continues to be a run producer

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Locke	11.2	10	2	2	0	13	1			Promotion should be coming
Aguero	4.2	3	0	0	2	3			1	Strong work in pen
Boleska	2.1	2	0	0	0	2	1
Adcock	5.1	5	2	1	2	1	1
Leach	6	5	2	2	0	4
Krol	3	2	2	2	3	4	1	1	1
Pribanic	15	16	3	3	1	3	1			Lot of innings, 1 win
Cox	4	1	0	0	0	3
Erickson	3	1	0	0	0	1

West Virginia: 0-4 For the Week

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Baker	2	2	0	0	1	2	2	2	Another week, another HR
Chambers	3	2	0	0	0	1	5	3
Cunningham	1	1	1	0	0	2	2	1
Gonzalez, B	2	6	3	0	0	3	1	2
Rubinstein	0	6	1	0	0	2	0	4
Morgan	2	5	3	0	0	0	0	1
Hernandez	3	6	1	0	2	4	1	2	Quietly providing power

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Irwin, P	3	8	4	4	1	3		1
Kelly, R	3	2	1	1	0	3
McPherson	5	4	3	2	0	4
Alvarado	0.1	3	3	3	0	0
Welker	1	3	4	0	0	1		1
Baca	2	4	1	1	0	3

State College: 2-4 For the Week

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Gourley	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	9	Lot of K's
Ngoepe	2	4	1	0	0	3	4	4
Lyles	6	8	0	1	0	3	1	0	Good work by 2010 pick
Brown	5	10	1	1	0	4	3	2	Led team in hits
Bencsko	2	5	1	1	0	2	2	3
Acevedo	0	4	0	0	0	0	1	9	Now playing RF
Skirving	1	4	0	0	0	4	0	2
Santos, A	3	3	2	0	0	4	2	2
White	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Welcome back from Army

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Ramos	3	0	0	0	1	3
Von Rosenberg	4	7	4	4	1	2		1		So So debut in NYP
Navarro	5	5	1	1	1	5	1			Nice K-BB
Dodson	7.2	9	5	5	4	1				Pitched most innings
Fienemann	3.1	9	3	3	0	2		1
Pounders	4	4	1	0	0	1		1
Fuesser	4.1	5	4	2	4	3
Waldron	3	4	2	2	1	1				2010 draft choice

Baby Bucs: 2-2 For Week

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Mort	5	6	0	0	0	3	1	0
Avila, E	4	5	0	0	1	2	3	1
Diaz, E	3	3	1	0	0	1	2	2
Polanco	2	4	2	0	0	2	0	3
Cayonez	5	6	3	0	0	3	0	5	Nice N. American debut

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Lorin	2	1	1	1	0	4				Finally surfaced
Neverauskas	2.1	2	2	2	1	2				Lithuanian debut
Singh	1	1	0	0	1	1
Cain	4	1	0	0	0	2				Professional debut
Stevenson	5	2	1	1	0	3	1			Solid for 2009 pick
Campos	5	3	1	1	1	5	1

Ugly

Other than that, what did you like about the play Mrs. Lincoln?

Every Pirate game seems to be an adventure. You are never sure what will happen. Could we see something historic or moronic? Will there be a big surprise or will it follow the script?

Tonight was one of the nights where you may not have seen it coming, yet at the same time is somewhat expected. Paul Maholm was absolutely horrible and he readily admitted that after the game. Well at least he is honest if not effecive. In only 1 full inning pitched, he gave up 7 runs, 5 earned, while walking 4. Yes he did only get three outs.

It is a good thing that Maholm pitched so poorly, as it covered up the fact that Dana Eveland is not able to pitch. In 2.2 innings pitched, Eveland gave up 6 runs. So much for him thinking that he might be the spot starter in Zach Duke's absence.

I really cannot say much else, as this is simply put unbelievable, but at the same time completely believable. I'd say that pretty much sums up a good deal of what being a Pirate fan is like.

A Hole in the Rotation

With the news that Zack Duke could be headed for the disabled list, there are all sorts of questions and bad thoughts running through a Pirate fan's mind.

Is Duke hurt worse than he is letting on? I am sure that this is the first thing that many would hav thought. Either this or the need for Duke to schedule time with Dr. James Andrews. Hopefully it is not that bad and that he just needs to rest the arm.

The other questions are who would replace him in his rotation spot for the time being? We can no longer just say Brad Lincoln as he is already up here.

No instead we are looking at a motley crew of Dana Eveland, Charlie Morton, Brian Burress and Daniel McCutchen. None of those guys are going to get anyone really excited at this point.

With Eveland it has been forever since he last pitched. Morton is still working through what ever it is that he needs to work through. Burress is OK and McCutchen is just the same.

Who ever it may be, you can bet that it will be worse than Duke, which is saying something considering how bad Duke has been this season. Hopefully the fix is temporary and not a more permanent one, so that after this weekend we can laugh that there was even any worry about the hole in the rotation.

2010 Draft Review: Part 1

Now that the dust has settled on the 2010 draft, I thought it would be a good time to take an in depth look at some of the players that the Pirates drafted. Who are some of these players, what are their strengths and areas for improvement, where are they going and what is it going to take for the Bucs to sign them. We all know the stories by now of Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie since they were considered two of the top players in this draft class but who are the rest of these guys? Let’s take a look today at two high school pitchers that the Bucs are no doubly going to attempt to make a run at and sign.

Nick Kingham 6’5 210 RHP Sierra Vista HS, NV
Drafted: 4th Round (#117)
Commitment: Oregon

Baseball Rumor Mill

While Bryce Harper has garnered most of the attention in Nevada and rightly so, Kingham has established himself as one of the better prospects in the state of Nevada. After transferring to Sierra Vista from Calvary Chappell he had to sit out a season per Nevada rules so he was a relative late comer onto the prospect scene having only last summer and this spring to showcase himself for scouts. Apparently scouts had really liked what they had been seeing from him so much so that going into the draft he was considered one of the fastest risers leading up to it.

Strengths: Kingham best profiles as a middle of the rotation starter thanks in part to his projectable size and his 90-93 MPH FB. Unlike a lot of taller pitchers who seem to have difficulty repeating their delivery, Kingham seems to have no problem due to having what many consider a “repeatable delivery”. He has the type of body to add velocity as he matures and his body fills out. Along with his FB he sports a solid change up which is often considered his second best pitch and a possible plus pitch some day.

Area for Improvement: He has a below average curveball which is still a work in progress.

Overview: Originally projected to taken anywhere between rounds 2-5, the Pirates snatched him up early in the 4th round. Depending on how much he may have his heart set on going to school will determine how over slot the Pirates may have to go. I think if they offer him somewhere in the region of Zack Dodson type of money they should be able to get a deal done.

Chance of Signing: I would say pretty strong, maybe around 90%. I doubt the Pirates would’ve taken him at this spot if they didn’t have a good feeling they could get a deal worked out.

MLB.com Draft Video



Dace Kime 6’4 205 RHP Defiance HS, OH
Drafted: 8th Round (#237)
Commitment: Louisville

University of Louisville

As most probably know by now, Kime is from Defiance HS in Ohio, the same school that produced current Dodger pitcher and former 1st rounder Chad Billingsley. Unlike Billingsley though, Kime is not nearly the same type of product and seems to be more of a developmental pitcher. I’ve always been a huge fan of players from the north, especially from Ohio and have always viewed Ohio as a state with a solid baseball history and a very good track record of development for young players.

Strengths: Much like Kingham and many of the other Pirates draft picks this season, Kime is a very projectable pitcher with good size and solid all around skills. Despite his size, he is considered a very good athlete. Right now his best pitch is a 90-92 MPH FB which he should be able to add more velocity as he matures, gets more repetition and some professional coaching.

Area for Improvment: Other than his FB, his secondary pitches are all very raw but that should be somewhat expected.

Overview: This is a very solid, developmental pick for the Pirates at this spot. When I look at this pick I think of the Trent Stephenson pick from last season. Both players were somewhat raw but both have tremendous upside and probably would benefit more from professional coaching then furthering there careers at the college game.

Chance of Signing: I’m keeping my fingers crossed here with the hopes that they can sign him since I really like this pick. Part of me thinks that things might hinge on what Allie ends up doing. If Allie signs then a huge chunk of money is gone from the budget but if he doesn’t then there’s likely to be enough to sign another handful of players. I think that a Trent Stephenson type bonus should be enough to get it done but would the Pirates go that high with him? I’ll go 60% chance that he signs.



***UPDATE***

A day after doing this write up, it was noted in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that the Pirates were aggressively having talks with both Kingham and Kime. If any of that info is true then one would think the Pirates might be serious about getting a deal worked out and the chances of them signing in my opinion seems to have jumped.

Strange Weekend

The weekend was a different one, as it started out as the past week or so of games had as well, with a Pirates' loss. That was not so weird. In fact considering how things had been going, it was down right expected to happen.

After that loss, I read on the front of the Post Gazette website, yes the front of a respected newspaper's website, a story about the team firing a college kid that was a pierogie. I don't want to get into details of the story, as the kid was stupid to post stuff on his Facebook page, probably knowing full well his supervisor reads it, but for the PG to run the story as breaking news was just too much.

If you don't think that the media in Pittsburgh is just feeding the "Pirates are horrible and can do no right" people out there, then I don't know what more proof I can show you that they are. The handling of the pierogie story should be enough proof of that bent to the stories. I am sure we will see upcoming articles like; Pirates Fireworks Night - Polluters of Air and Water, Overseas Outsourcing: the Story Behind the Bobbleheads. and Rainout - Why the Pirates Can't Plan Games.

While that was going on, games were still being played surprisingly. The Bucs flirted with disaster with both wins, but where able to gut them out. On Saturday in particular, John Russell was going to the bullpen, as though it was a World Series game. What was a breezy game, turned into a crawl as both teams went deep into the pens.

The Pirates survived the weekend and were able to take 2 of 3 from the Tribe. They now go on the road to face the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics. Interleague play has not been kind to the Bucs and I don't see it really changing all that much on this trip.

You never know they might go on a bit of run, now that they are on a bit of a streak here. If they can string together something respectable prior to the All-Star break, it might not be that bad of a summer stretch. The real reason to keep watching is the younger players. This year is a big deal for them and their growth. It is already fun to watch them go at it now, it will be even better as they gel as a team.

The Quietest Extensions Ever

In what seemed to be a little strange, Frank Coonelly acknowledged that the Pirates, in the offseason, extended the contracts of Neal Huntington and John Russell through next season. They seemingly did so due to national media reports of Russell being out the door.

I caught wind of the news late in the day and was not all that surprised that they had resigned them. I think most would have thought that Huntington would be back no matter what. Russell was a little more wishy washy, but in the end you still might have felt that he would be given at least one more year.

Yet when I got in the car to listen to the sports talk on the radio, you would think that this was the biggest deception and dumbest move in the history of the franchise. It was amazing to me that in the midst of this losing streak, that the media would be calling for the manager to get fired. As though sacrificing John Russell would somehow appease the Baseball Gods.

The media in this town wants a 'firery' coach. One who will not take it sitting down. Well we tried that with Lloyd McClendon. That really got us somewhere, did it not. I wish they would just come out and say that they really want to have Jim Leyland back. Every vague quality that is described to the ideal Pirate manager, seems to me to be an allusion to Leyland. The manager is not the problem. You could have a guy with the wrath of Satan behind him and it would not help this team.

I really like how the team has gone about its business. It does not seem to care about the media at all. They seem to understand that the media is riding along with the 'Pirates can do no right' mantra and they are paying no attention to it. The media is calling for Russell to get fired, they instead announce they resigned him. The media wants to ask questions about Huntington's status. Guess what; resigned as well. The media wanted Alvarez called up at the start of series. Guess what; they bring him up in the middle.

The Pirates brass is walking to the beat of a different drum of the thoughts out there in the Pittsburgh sports media universe, from beat writers to columnists to radio shows. I applaud the willingness to not care about the press. They have the plan. They are making the decisions. If they listen to popular opinion, you end up with mistakes like Derek Bell and Raul Mondesi. Big names that make the headlines, but hurt the team.

I look forward to having the leadership continue on its course. They have the plan and are going to execute it, no matter what gets written about it.

This Week on the Farm

Team of the Week: Altoona Curve
Hitter of the Week: Calvin Anderson, Bradenton
Pitcher of the Week: Hayden Penn, Indianapolis

Indianapolis - 2-4 on the week

With the mass exodus of hitters from AAA, there is not a ton at Indy right now. Jeff Clement, cementing his AAAA status, had 8 hits and 2 home runs. Jim Negrych in his call up also had 8 hits and 2 home runs, to go with 5 RBI. Brandon Moss had a home run.

On the mound Hayden Penn got 2 wins on the week, as he went 12 innings and did not allow an earned run. Charlie Morton went 6 innings, gave up 3 and struck out 6, while Brian Burres went 5.2, allowing 3 and striking out 8.

Altoona - 3-3 For the Week

Chase D'Arnaud broke out of his slump as he had 11 hits. Josh Harrison had 6 hits and 8 RBI and Matt Hague had 6 RBI and 6 hits. Gorkys Hernandez had 9 hits, a home run, and 6 RBI. Jordy Mercer had 8 hits.

On the mound Danny Moskos blew a save but picked up a win. Derek Hankins picked up a win, going 5.1 innings. Bryan Morris was Jekyll and Hyde, as he went 11 innings, allowing 15 hits, 10 runs, walking 5, striking out 11 in getting a win and loss. Rudy Owens went 5.2 innings, allowing 3 in a no decision. Tony Watson went 5.1 scoreless and Justin Wilson allowed 4 in 6 in a no decision.

Bradenton - 2-2 For the Week

Calvin Anderson had 7 hits, three home runs, and 4 RBI. Quincy Latimore and Adenson Chourio each had 6 hits and Jorge Bishop, up from the VSL, had 3 hits in 7 at bats.

On the mound Brian Leach went 7 scoreless, striking out 8 for a win. Tyler Cox picked up the other win with 2 scoreless.

West Virginia - 2-4 On the Week

Jarek Cunningham led the Power with 9 hits. David Rubinstein and Jose Hernandez each had 6 hits, with Hernandez having 3 home runs. Kyle Morgan had 3 home runs and 7 RBI.

Kyle McPherson had a win, by going 7 innings, striking out 9. Mike Williams picked up the other win for the Power.

Not Exactly One for the Ages

In what was perhaps one of the more anticipated Pirate games in recent memory, the Pirates fell flat on their face. Thankfully there were not a ton of people that paid to go watch it.

The game started out as a pitcher's duel, but Zach Duke made sure that would not happen. He decided to do what Zach Duke does all too often and started to give up hit after hit. Before one knew it the White Sox were running away with the game.

In turn it was good that the White Sox were able to hit their way into a few runs, as it somewhat takes away the sting of all of the errors. And a comedy of errors it was. At some point, I could almost hear the Benny Hill music in the background as I watched the game unfold in front of me.

The debut of Alvarez though was what some could have expected, not much to remember. Heck I can barely remember what happened and it was over only a few hours ago. He went hit less, drew a walk, scored a run, and committed an error. Not exactly the debut we could have expected, but then again many had expected some RBI's and even perhaps a home run.

In time Alvarez will most assuredly deliver on the run producing and home runs. But what his debut has shown to us as fans, is that there is still plenty of work and plenty of sorting of talent left yet to do.

In the coming weeks and months, the team will probably have to make decisions on Duke, Doumit, LaRoche, Pearce, Clement, Milledge, Dotel, Cedeno and others. Those decisions will be important as it will help in the shaping of the supporting cast for the core that is here. It may take some astute trades and more likely it will have to take some money.

The major part of the building of the major league roster is here. We now need to wait for the growth of that talent and for the additions to it.

The Big Day

Well it has been a little over two years in the making, but we will finally see the debut of Pedro Alvarez as a Pittsburgh Pirate. Yesterday, I had mentioned how many want to see a bunch of players get called up, but really the only player in the system that anyone could see being called up soon was Alvarez.

Neal Huntington has been taking a lot of heat all season for saying that Pedro still needed to work on things. It is hard for many to swallow that pill as they see him pile up home runs and RBI's, while the current Pirates do neither. But Huntington was right in his approach. Alvarez was not fully ready and at the same time he was trying to curb the enthusiasm of some, seeing Pedro as the savior.

There is going to be a lot of pressure on Pedro from the start, just because of his standing as a prospect and draft pick. There is no need to put the added pressure of making him the savior of the franchise that has endured so much. I think it was right for Huntington to make statements like he did, even if they seemed flimsy.

Pedro will be a main point on this team. One of the key cogs in the new machine, but he will have people with him. Andrew McCutchen, the current face of the franchise, will take a ton of pressure off of him. McCutchen himself has been playing like a superstar in his little over one year. A guy like Garrett Jones can get hot with the bat and help with pressure as well. Other rookies like Jose Tabata, who made a fine running catch tonight, and the ever growing local legend, Neil Walker, will help as well.

While there is a lot expected of him, we must also understand that it may take him some time to get acclimated. In the meantime, we will have to hope that the others make a little easier on him to be what he can be.

I'd have to admit this might be the most exciting player call up in years. I cannot wait to see the lineup for tomorrow night.

Call Up Everyone

Leave it to the Yinzers out there that see something and go over board with it. In the wake of seeing the small success of having Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, and to a lesser degree Brad Lincoln up in the majors and the team needs to call up everyone in the minors. This is a story that we have heard all too often during the stretch of futility that we have experienced.

By my count I have heard people on the radio ask why we don't have Pedro Alvarez, Bryan Morris, Tim Alderson, Rudy Owens and Tony Sanchez up in Pittsburgh. I will allow that Pedro Alvarez probably should be up here. I mean in Andy LaRoche's last ten games, he has just one more RBI than I do, 1. And that is our starting third baseman.

As for the rest, well it is absolute lunacy. Bryan Morris is one year removed from his rehabilitation year and will probably be watched carefully the rest of the season. He has already pitched 71.2 innings this season. Last season he pitched 72.2 and the year before a total of 96 innings. I really cannot see him going outside the 120-140 range. With that few innings, he won't make it to Pittsburgh.

Tim Alderson is pitching well, but he is working on his secondary pitches. If anything he will get promoted to AAA to work against more advanced pitchers and to hone his mechanics. Rudy Owens is slowly building up his inning work load, but based on what he is done I cannot see him doing more than 140-160 innings this season. Last season he had 124 and this year is already at 71.

Tony Sanchez, while probably able to play at AA right now, has been slowed by injuries that have cropped up. He also needs to work extensively on the little parts of the game that the catcher controls.

Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, most in Steeler, I mean yinzer nation, want to see the young guys. It does not matter that they are not ready. It does not matter that they all will perhaps make an appearance in Pittsburgh next season. No they want to see a team of young guys, that play hard.

Here is willing to bet that if the team went out and brought up all the young guys, the criticism would be that the team was cheap and minor league. Really not all that different than now, except the profit margin would be even higher for Nutting. The profits might be even greater if we wait for them to be ready. It has paid off for Andrew McCutchen and so far for the others, like Tabata and Walker. Why not give them the benefit of the doubt that they have an idea of what they are doing.

Draft Day 3- Rundown

Here is a run down of the players that the Pirates selected in Day 3 of the draft. Again they leaned heavy on pitching in their selections.

Jason Townsend RHP Alabama

Raw but with a fresh arm, Townsend is a junior at Alabama who transferred there from Chipola JC in Florida. He projects as a valuable bullpen arm but will more then likely return to Alabama for his senior year.

Chase Lyles 3rd Northwestern State

As a senior, Lyles is penciled in as an organizational player. Drafted as a 3rd baseman, he has the ability to play the infield and outfield and will most likely be the Pat Irvine of this draft class.

Justin Ennis LHP Louisiana State-Shreveport

One of 2 players the Pirates drafted out of LSS, Ennis has good size but as a junior will most likely return to school.

Kelson Brown RHP Linfield College

With a strong arm, the Pirates drafted Brown as a pitcher despite having a record setting career under former Yankee Scott Brosius at Linfield.

Drew Muren OF Cal State Northridge

A 2 way player at Cal Northridge, Muren tore his labrum and that pretty much relegated him to the OF full time. At 6’6 he has a long swing but he has good power potential. As a draft eligible sophomore being taken this late, he’ll most likely return to school.

Cliff Archibald RHP McLennan CC (TX)

A talent 2 way player from JUCO power McLennan, the Pirates drafted Archibald as a pitcher. He’ll probably return to school.

Will Allen C Buchholtz HS, FL

A solidly built catcher known more for his defense then offensive ability, will probably end out at the University of Mississippi.


Alex Cox RHP Santiago HS, CA

Tall, 6’6 HS pitcher… I was unable to find a college commitment.

Kevin Decker RHP College of Charleston

Good FB despite a slight build; is a college senior.

Harrison Cooney RHP Vero Beach HS, FL

A very raw HS RHP, Cooney isn’t committed to a college so the Pirates will probably follow him through the summer to see if they want to sign him.


Bryton Trepagnier RHP East St John HS, LA

Tall, projectable pitcher from LA, signed to play JUCO ball at Bossier Parish CC.

Stephen Lumpkins LHP American University

Despite not having a baseball program, the Pirates found American University 6’8 basketball player Stephen Lumpkins. Having not played baseball since HS, the Pirates apparently liked his upside.

Garrett Hicks RHP Yucaipa HS, CA

Another tall, raw HS pitcher who has had some injury issues in the past. Has not committed to a 4 year school so he’ll most likely go the JUCO route.

Cory McGinnis RHP Shelton State CC, AL

As a local Pittsburgh area product, McGinnis is coming off a season that saw him go 11-2.

Connor Sadzeck RHP Crystal Lake Central HS, IL

Yet again another tall, projectable pitcher. He will probably end up finding his way to the University of Illinois.

Ryan Wiggins C West Seattle HS, WA

Talented young catcher from the 2010 hot bed State, Wiggins will most likely end up at Lewis and Clark State.

Nathan Sorenson OF Texas HS, TX

Athletic HS OF, has signed a letter of intent to play FB at Oklahoma State so no go here.

Dillon Haviland LHP South Fayette HS, PA

Local Pittsburgh area product, he has a FB that touches 89 MPH. He will probably end up at Duke.

Logan Pevny RHP West Milford HS, NJ

At 6’1, he has a high 80’s FB and should be a player to keep an eye on this summer.

Dusty Isaacs RHP Lebanon HS, OH

Talented 2 sport athlete, he was the number 10 pre-season recruit in OH. Has signed letter to play at GA Tech so most likley a no go here.