Steelers Fans Rule

With a fervor only Milwaukee Brewers fans can truly appreciate, Steelers fans once again show why rooting for the Black and Gold is so much fun. That reason, of course, is the group beer bong.

Sure, that Brewers beer bong might have had more hoses, but all you got was a picture, and those jerks easily could've been nursing their beer. With video technology firmly focused on this group of Pittsburghers, we get to see one of these bad boys in action. Older dudes were taking one to the face.

Next time someone (probably from Cleveland) tries to hate on you for supporting the Steelers, show 'em this video and proceed to call them and their fellow fans any group of insults you like. I prefer Asshat, Turd Burglar or Clown Shoes. Don't limit yourselves to my choices, though.

Bay's Awesome Catch Helps Buccos Win 2nd Straight Interleague Series

This. Is. No. Typo.

The Buccos beat the ChiSox 8-7 yesterday, behind an unbelievable catch by left fielder Jason Bay.

It all seemed like a classic Pirates failure. Slugger Jim Thome walks to the plate in the top of the 9th. 2 batters were on, and Thome represented the go-ahead run. Thome smacked a ball to deep left, and Bay gave chase. Feeling for the wall with his right hand, Bay lept and pulled a go-ahead homer back into play. The runner at 3rd tagged and scored, but Bay minimized the damage. Matt Capps finished the inning to close the series-clinching game.

My reaction. "Holy Sh...!"

With the win, the Buccos have now taken 2 of 3 from the Rangers and the ChiSox. Sure, both teams aren't in the upper echelon of the American League, but the Bucs will take any interleague win they can get.

Hopefully, these 2 series wins will provide some momentum, as the team now plays their final 2 interleague series against the hot Mariners and the Angels. Clearly, these 2 teams are much better than the last 2 opponents.

Although the team was swept by the Yankees last weekend, the Buccos have rallied to turn an early 0-3 interleague hole into a more-respectable 4-5 push. As I've said in the past, I'm just hoping the team can manage 1 win in both series against Seattle and Los Angeles (or Anaheim, or Anaheim of Los Angeles or whatever they're calling the Angels this year.) Milwaukee lost yesterday, thanks to a walk-off dinger by the Twins (take that, Prince Fielder and your inside-the-park-homer). The Buccos are only 8 games back of the Brew-Crew, so whatever momentum gained from yesterday could really boost the team's fortunes as they close out the '07 interleague schedule. Hopefully. This poll (above) on the Pirates' homepage shows, despite the annual awful play of the Buccos, that fans still aren't ready to throw in the towel just yet.

Please Demote Tony Armas Jr.

How can a 7-2 win spell the end for a game’s starting pitcher? Well, if your name is Tony Armas Jr., you only pitch 3 innings (again) and the guy who relieves you pitches well above your stats, then demotion might just be in the works.

Ronny Paulino came through with 3 RBIs against the Marlins, and Shawn Chacon pitched 5 scoreless innings in relief of Armas to record the win. Armas allowed 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in 3 innings. Jim Tracy, who has been dodging questions about Armas’ possible demotion, can elude the hounding no further. He’s come out and said that it isn’t good when you have to ask your starter for the ball in the 2nd or 3rd inning. Tracy had to do just that yesterday. Luckily, the move paid off, and Chacon pitched well enough to allow the Pirates’ offense to kick into gear.

Chacon only allowed 1 free pass, induced 6 groundouts, 6 flyouts and 3 strikeouts. Could Chacon take Armas’ place in the rotation? Very possible. Or, Bryan Bullington (6-1 2.40 ERA) or John Van Benschoten (3-3 2.47 ERA) could fill that spot. Even if one of those two who are currently in Triple-A Indianapolis don’t make the starting rotation, they could move to the bullpen, giving Chacon a chance to start again. I would be pleased with either decision. Chacon is clearly a better talent than Armas, and a demotion for Armas would mean that Bullington or Van Benschoten would be able to face some major league hitting in some capacity.

One reason for the past 14 losing seasons, is that the Buccos constantly stick with bad pitchers, mainly because there is no other option. Over the past 3-4 seasons, our current starters were all too young and inexperienced to be called up to the bigs. With a tiny payroll, Pittsburgh couldn’t afford to spend lavishly on free agents either. This year, the Pirates tried to get into a bidding war for former Buccos starter Jeff Suppan, but couldn’t match Milwaukee’s offer. Instead, Pittsburgh settled for Washington castoff Tony Armas Jr. This decision is obviously not working out. Luckily, the Pirates finally have some young pitching in the minors who are just waiting for their chance to start in a Pittsburgh uni. Bullington has been putting up some ridiculous numbers, and Van Benschoten, at the very least, is a better fit than Armas.

Chacon, Bullington or Van Benschoten? I’d be pleased with either as our 5th starter. I’d also like to see Maholm demoted, so maybe a couple of these guys are about to get their first chance of 2007.

Time For Some Rebut

After I posted my feelings on the Matt Capps suspension, I received several emails complaining about my reasoning. Here is one email that I would like to share, complete with my rebuttal. The email came from a reader by the name of Brady Quinn.*

You need to look at the tape again. Prince Fielder was not hit in the elbow he was hit in the shoulder. Oh and by the way the reason he was hit in the shoulder? He lifted his shoulder to protect his head. I am all for the pitcher having the inside corner, but that's not what happened here. Capps was head hunting and it could have either seriously hurt Fielder or incited an ugly brawl.

Even Jim Tracy commented after the game that he understood why Fielder was upset. I can agree that four games may be harsh, however your stance is ridiculous.

Take your homer blinders off.

Here is my response to Brady Quinn.

Shoulder...Elbow...My bad. I typed that in a hurry cos I had to go to a meeting.
Capps headhunting? Could be. But is Capps known as a head hunter? Does he have a history of going after guys just because the batter before him is having an
unbelievable series? Thats a stretch to even think of. And should an isolated instance warrant an automatic ejection coupled with an overdone suspension and
fine?

And Fielder? His exaggerated spin, the stare at Capps, the glaring into Milwaukee's dugout to see if retaliation was coming in the next inning, and the childish antics he displayed on Sunday really begs the question if Fielder was doing a little acting. At least a little. And Capps was immediately ejected because of it. And now has four games to think about it.

Yeah I heard Tracy say that (about Fielder being upset). Fielder has every right to be upset, because the pitch was well inside. And he got hit by it. I'd be mad at that, too. I'm only saying that Capps' suspension is wrong, and Fielder, who was blatantly calling a hit on the Pirates in the next inning by constantly staring into his own dugout, is partly to blame.

Fielder gets hit sorta in between the shoulder and the elbow. Here's some crappy video. Note the elongated "lay on the ground and stare at Matt Capps."

And here is a quote from ESPN.com's account of Sunday's game.

Fielder just eluded catcher Ryan Doumit's tag as the throw home was up the third-base line. After he slid across the plate, Fielder popped up and repeatedly punched his fists toward the Pirates' bench, prompting plate umpire Tim Timmons to step in front of him and point him toward the Brewers' dugout.

Doumit followed with:

It was a nice slide," he said. "My hat is off to him, but I think that's pretty bush league what he did afterwards.

Oh, and the homer blinders part? That's part of the site. The name is Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies, and I elude to seeing the world through black and gold colored glasses in my "About" section:

Yeah, my Pittsburgh bias is evident, and if it shows itself in my posts, then you'll just have to deal with it.

Its kinda part of the site. This isn't the place for unbiased analysis. Of course I'm gonna take Capps' side.


* Names have been changed for comedic purposes.

Matt Capps Suspended, Prince Fielder Babied

Reliever Matt Capps was suspended 4 games for his actions against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. Capps plunked Prince Fielder on the elbow, and was immediately ejected by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez. Jim Tracy was not happy at the time. Neither was Capps.

Sure, Capps had just given up a homer to J.J. Hardy, only the 2nd run he's allowed this year. He plunked Fielder, the next batter, on a rising inside fastball that caught the 1st baseman on the elbow. The ball looked like it could be going towards Fielder's head, but was deflected when Prince raised his arm.

I was perturbed with how quickly Capps was ejected from the game. I'm no fan of the "I'm gonna warn both benches" tactic, and if an ump is going to warn a team, it means he thinks they are in the wrong. Ejections are a much better way to deal with intentional hits.

With that being said, an ejection and 4 game suspension plus an undisclosed fine was a little overboard for the hit on Fielder's elbow. Capps had just given up a home run, and needed to reestablish his control over the inside of the plate. Sure, the ball was high and inside, but it wouldn't have hit Fielder's head. The only reason it hit Fielder's elbow was because Prince flailed his elbow out when he saw the ball coming inside. Fielder is a smart player. The guys in the booth couldn't stop talking about that fact for the entire series. He was shown paying attention to the littlest of details, and we were all treated to his superior knowledge of how the game is supposed to be played (blah, blah, blah). Any batter coming up after an "insurance" home run knows that the pitcher is probably going to come inside with the next few pitches. As soon as Fielder saw the the pitch coming, his elbow went up, and he dramatically spun around to the ground, staring at Capps.

Marquez wasted no time, and ejected an obviously heated Capps. Jim Tracy seemed upset with the swift ejection, and Capps ran his mouth the whole way to the dugout. Here's Capps' take on the situation:

I had him 0-and-1," Capps said. "So he had a quick hook. Obviously, stuff
like that is a judgmental call on his part, and I'm not going to question what
he did. I have to show him I can pitch inside. If they don't like it, that's
their problem. I'm going to continue to throw the ball on the inside part of the
plate.

The Pirates look to Ian Snell to help the team get back on track tonight versus the Cubs. Snell is following up his worst performance of the season from this past Wednesday, when he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits. He also walked 4, threw a wild pitch, and hit a batter (and wasn't suspended for 4 games). The Buccos face Ted Lilly, who the Pirates touched up for 5 runs and 9 hits over 5 1/3 innings on May 1st.

This Past Weekend Sucked

I took a mini break from blogging this weekend, because, as the title points out, this past weekend sucked. After taking game 1 of the series with the Beer-Makers, the Buccos decided to lose on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Prince Fielder, who was pissed about getting beaned on the elbow on Saturday, hit a pair of homers and scored the winning run (captured in the above photo) to quell the Pirates' attempt at a comeback in the finale.

Other than those obvious reasons, the Steelers did nothing significant, and the Penguins are still out of the playoffs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. won an unexciting bout with Oscar De La Hoya. Roger Clemens announced he's coming back to the Yankees. I would have only paid attention to that story if Clemens and Pirates were in the same sentence. Some horse won the Kentucky Derby, and I had to go to college commencement practice. Nothing really controlled my interests this weekend, so I gave you, the reader, the bare minimum for the past few days.

The Buccos have the day off today, which is greatly needed. Pittsburgh's last two opponents, the Cubs and Brewers, both entered their series against the Bucs with 4 game win streaks (Which I mentioned here). The Pirates won the opener in both series, and proceeded to drop the final 3 games in each. Bummer, indeed.

The Bucs are 13-17, good for 4th place in the Central and 7.5 games behind Milwaukee. The series opener looked promising for the Bucs, who then decided to give away a bunch of runs in the next 3 games. Any chance at catching the Brewers in the near future flew out the window during the 10-0 drubbing in game 2. ADD Laroche did record 3 hits on Saturday (Whaaat?...) which hopefully kicks off his season (It is May, you know).

Little off topic, but if you haven't seen the movie Grandma's Boy, you should probably see it soon (Your ass is tanner than my face). Yeah, I'm a little behind the times, but that's what happens when you hold multiple jobs while trying to graduate from college...and while you attempt to run a kickass sportsblog. Its a typical crude humor movie from Happy Madison Productions, and that is really all I need when I want to laugh. What? You didn't like Grandma's Boy? You would if you had robot ears...I gotta stop now.

Bucs Rally in 7th, Hold on to Win

I pretty much gave a recap up to the 7th inning last night that sums up the Buccos' 4-2 win over the Milwaukee "Former best record in the league" Brewers.

Gorzo looked alright early, but started to struggle in the 6th. Ronny Paulino had caught Tony Graffanino in a rundown as he was trying to steal 2nd on a hit and run with pitcher Dave Bush (Why would you use Dave Bush for a hit and run? He showed bunt, then swung through, whiffing on some Gorzo heat). Gorzo seemed to either jam his knee on the pitch, or when he ducked after Paulino began running at Graffanino. He took a couple practice pitches before tossing a passed ball, allowing J.J. Hardy to score from 3rd. The Bucs were down 2-0 at this point, and Gorzo looked finished.

However, a new Pirate offense came out in the 7th.

Freddy Sanchez laced a double to center, and scored when Jason Bay waited on an off-speed pitch, and delivered a fluke shot that fell between 1st and right. Smart base running by Bay allowed him to hustle to 2nd. Ryan Doumit grounded out and Xavier Nady hit a soft liner to Prince Fielder. With two outs, it got to the point where I was talking to my television. "Come on, Bucs. Its the 7th inning. You already got a run, but now we need to get Bay in. There aren't many more chances in this game to tie it up. If we get a third out now, the bottom of the order is coming up in the 8th, and Gorzo is about to get relieved." Pirate's television analyst Bob Walk countered with his, "Bautista needs to work on his power" speech. Bautista absolutely jumped on the next pitch, crushing it to deep left. 3-2 Pirates. Gorzo looked pumped. He still didn't close his mouth. Paulino decided to trot around the bases as well, smacking a pitch to right center. 4-2 Pirates, so Gorzo came up to bat. I was happy, because after the offense showed some life, Gorzo was in like for his 4th win.

He stayed out in the bottom of the 7th, and made a difficult defensive play, diving and tagging out a bunting Tony Gwynn Jr. with the same hand. Awesome. Gorzo sold himself out for the team, and was rewarded with win number 4.

The 13-14 record is good for 2nd in the division, and now puts the Pirates only 4.5 games behind Milwaukee with 2 games left in the series.

Well That Was a Bummer

The Pirates fell to the Cubs twice yesterday. Chicago held on to win the rain-delayed game 8-6, and touched Ian Snell for four runs in five innings in the ensuing, "real" game. The Bucs also lost that contest, 7-1. Ryan Doumit homered, and that was about it. 3 other hits were spread over the game by your awesome Bucs offense.

So after managing to hang on to a .500 record due to postponement, the Bucs suffered 2 divisional losses on the same day, and now sit at 12-14. The Brew Crew (18-9) sent the Redbirds (10-16) to their 5th straight loss, and lead the Central by a full 5 games over Cincinnati (13-14), and 5.5 over Pittsburgh(12-14) and Chicago (also 12-14). Houston (11-15), is only one game ahead of that World Champion bottom-feeding team from St. Louis.

The Brewers have won 4 in a row, so it is only fitting that the Pirates should start a series with them tonight. The Cubs entered this past series on a 4 game win streak of their own, and were able to take 3 of 4 against Pittsburgh. The Pirates send Tom Gorzelanny (3-1, 3.06 ERA) out to face Dave Bush (2-2, 6.23 ERA). Here's an extremely long post about Gorzo, which I first read via Mondesi's House. Nice to see he's getting some love.

Gorzo Gets 3rd Win as Pirates Beat Dodgers 7-5

Go ahead and cheer, Pittsburgh fans. Your Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Dodgers yesterday, 7-5, in Los Angeles. No extra innings here. No walk off grannys. Just good, Pirates baseball. Chris Duffy had 3 hits, scored 3 runs and swiped a pair of bases, while ADD Laroche (I've quit calling him Adam) hit a solo shot. I hope the Pirates offense is coming around, because we can ill afford to get stuck in the Central cellar again.

Before the season started Tom Gorzelanny was the last Pirate pitcher I would've expected to start the season with 3 wins. Ian Snell, if he could find his location, would've been my 1st pick. Zach Duke, if he could keep the opposing team from scoring 8 runs in the 1st inning, would have been a close 2nd. I probably even pictured Tony Armas Jr. with a couple of wins of his own. Paul Maholm...yeah I don't think I even figured him into the equation. But it is impressive that Gorzo leads the team in wins. No other young Pirate arm even has 2 wins.

The team's record is 7-10, which is still 3.5 games behind Milwaukee. I'm just happy that the team didn't lose again.

Paul (great...) Maholm (0-2) is on tap to pitch Tuesday in Houston against Woody (maybe we will have a chance) Williams (also 0-2). Both pitchers are sportin' ERA's over 6, so maybe the Buc's offense will be able to keep the momentum and really tee it off in Houston.

One more thing. Why are the seats behind home plate at PNC called the Lexus Club? Do you have to own a Lexus to sit there? And if the "Lexus" refers to preferred, or exclusive seating, then shouldn't the general admission bleachers be renamed the 1993 Plymouth Duster Club? Just a thought...

Wolf Uses Arm, Bat To Beat Buccos

Allow me to shed one more tear for the completion of hockey season in Pittsburgh. Why? Because the raucous fans in Pittsburgh get to focus on the Pirates, and only the Pirates, until the NFL draft and the start of training camp. And in a 162 game season, the layoffs between hockey and football can seem endless. Especially when your team decides to alternate winning streaks and losing streaks.

The Pirates lost, again, to the Dodgers, 10-2. Randy Wolf struck out 10 Buccos and hit 2 doubles (the picture above shows Wolf hitting a two-run double in the 3rd). With one swing of the bat, pitcher Randy Wolf equalled the total offense the Pirates could muster all game. Tony Armas Jr., who last started on April 7th (nothing like a 2 week break), lasted only 2 2/3 innings, giving up 8 runs.

Just when it seems like the Bucs have turned it around with a 2 game sweep of the defending champion Cardinals, Pittsburgh decided to take a mental break, and have now lost 3 in a row. The first 2 losses came against the Brewers, and yesterday's loss was to Wolf and the Dodgers. Ian Snell pitched today, with hopes of getting to 7-9! Awesome. After the sweep of the Redbirds brought the Buccos back to .500, I didn't think Pittsburgh would suffer its 9th loss before its 7th win. Unfortunately, this is how it goes in Pittsburgh baseball, or at least how its gone over the last 14 seasons. Now that the Warriors are in the NBA playoffs with a record over .500, the Pirates are the only team in the four major sports with a losing season-mark in the double digits. Always nice to be recognized!

That's enough for now. Hopefully the Buccos win tonight. We can sure use a decent outing by Snell. Anything to snap this current losing streak would be great. If not, we've got a long wait till Steelers' training camp.