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.

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.

Maholm Tosses a Beauty, Paulino Homers as Bucs Beat Astros

Paul Maholm, looking very un-Paul Maholm-like, blanked the Astros as the Bucs beat the Astros 3-0. Maholm allowed only 3 hits, earned his first career shutout, and lowered his ERA from slightly above 6 to slightly below 4.

Ronny Paulino homered, most likely because I tagged him as a potential star earlier in the day. He was able to complete his rookie season hitting respectively over .300, and power is something he's been working on. His first dinger of the year helped the Pirates win their 4th straight against Houston and first win at home this season.

The 8-10 record looks a little better, and the team is threatening to get back to .500 (oooh..these are exciting times). I'm going to have to update my "7 Reasons to Keep Watching the Bucs" post with reason number 8. I'll celebrate any Pirate win, since those have been as rare as a Michael Keaton compliment to the Pirate's management. I can't say I'd mind growing my list to "82+ Reasons to Keep Watching the Bucs."

7 Reasons to Keep Watching the Bucs This Season

Since the Pirates now have 7 wins on the season, I give you my 7 Reasons to Stick with the Buccos This Season:


1. Tom Gorzelanny. Wow! I never thought he would be reason number 1. The kid is on pace for 25-30 wins! How could you not get behind a young pitcher with a perfect early-season record? His ERA is a more than respectable 2.05 (Take that, Tony Armas Jr. and your 18.90 ERA), and is second on the team in strikeouts. He might (will) flare out. No pitcher in today's game will win 3 of every 4 starts, but it is nice to have that kind of success early on.

2. Ian Snell. He is reason number 2, because he leads the team with 24 strikeouts through 27 innings pitched. His strikeout per innings ratio is a little lower than Gorzo, but he can flat-out make hitters miss. In a sport where games can turn on one bad pitch, I'm relying on Ian to trust his stuff (I never like when people use that expression. Sounds kinda weird and dirty) and keep making batters whiff.

3. Brad Eldred. Yeah, the Pirates are having trouble making room for Big Country. The management seemed to forget Country when they decided to trade for ADD (.105 avg, .281 slg) Laroche this past offseason. The same thing happened last season when the Bucs brought in "hometown hero" Sean (Left fielders can throw me out at 1st) Casey. Neither 1st base pickup brought any life to the Pirates bats (I'm still hoping Laroche will heat up), and Big Country is still forced to look from the dugout. Even though Eldred is sporting a .117 average, he has only been to the plate 17 times. As the season progresses further, expect the Paul Bunyan-esque Brad to get more playing time while stepping in for guys that are tired/slumping

4. We Play in the National League Central. This argument always frustrated me, but it is the truth. While the NL Central isn't the worst division in the bigs, it isn't necessarily a powerhouse. A 7-10 record is only 4 games behind the Brewers (who have played 2 more games), the only team in the Central with a record over .500. If the Buccos can warm up against Woody Williams and the rest of the Astros staff this week, the team has a legitimate shot at reaching .500 and contending for the division lead.

5. Andrew McCutchen. He's not in the bigs yet, but a mid-to-late season call-up is not entirely out of the picture. Citing 14 years of regular season debacles, there is a high possibility that Andrew could be in a Pirates uniform before the active roster expands from 25 to 40 on September 1st. For a team that once employed Adam Hyzdu, having McCutchen on the roster would definitely be a bonus. The Buccos will still be entertaining to watch as the season rolls down even if this year turns out like the past 14, simply because we might get a chance to see Andy face some major-league pitching.

6. Adam Hyzdu is Not on the Roster. While the offense is still finding its groove and the team sits 3 games below .500, there is no reason to believe that this team can't make a meaningful run. Jason Bay is a 2-time All Star and former Rookie of the Year. Freddy Sanchez is the defending NL Batting Champ and an All Star last season. ADD Laroche put up career-bests last year with a .285 average, 30 home runs, and 90 RBIs. Jose Bautista and Ronny Paulino have the ability to be big-time performers in the future, and Chris Duffy is actually looking like a legit leadoff man who can swipe a ton of bases. The roster is good enough to get this team over .500. Let's just hope the motivation and execution are there as well.

7. Its Only April 23! The season is still young. The Pirates have played only 17 out of 162 games. There's no reason to believe (Other than the past 14 years) that the Buccos will play 7-10 ball from here on out. Alex Rodriguez hit his 14th homer in New York's 18th game overall. He tied the April Home Runs record set by Albert Pujols last year. Did Pujols keep up that pace and hit 125 homers last year? Not a chance. What I'm saying is that the season is long, and this is only April. The Bucs have a long way to go, but I'm expecting a vast improvement over the course of the season (Although I've said this for the past 14 years).

Apologies Over, Now Back To Blogging

hey hey, the pirates won. i still get excited when the buccos win, mainly because its something i havent seen a whole lot of in my day. by taking the final game of the series with the reds, the buccos avoided being swept, and their record stands at 4-2, which leads the central with the reds. jack wilson homered (see above picture), jason bay homered, and so did big country. i said before, that brad eldred needed to make the pirates opening day roster, instead of starting the season in the minors again. big country proved me right, by homering in his first game this season, and for the first time since 2005. it was eldred's 12 career homer. i saw his 10th career home run, in a game that andy pettitte won in pittsburgh, on september 20, 2005. my buddy evan, who is from boston and looks like joe thornton, as ive pointed out in the past, hung out and talked with pettitte's dad throughout the game. we had seats right behind the astros dugout, and evan, a hardcore pats/bosox fan, kept talking with mr pettitte about boston sports, and mr pettitte kept looking at his friends like, "whos this dude?" dont know why thats important, but it was memorable...and eldred homered.

we are about 50 hours to the drop of the puck in pittsburgh's first playoff game in some time. i cant wait, and im not that worried that the game will be in ottawa. we just won there, so that shouldnt be too much of an obstacle to overcome. scott burnside of espn.com, who has written some pro-penguins pieces in the past, has picked the sens to win in 5 games. boo. he names the lack of experience and the questionable blue line as reasons for his pick. i just think he has the hots for sens coach bryan murray.

zach johnson won the masters. he outlasted tiger, who couldnt seem to hit the right shots. it is impressive, however that tiger played so poorly, yet still put himself in a position to win another green jacket. i was unimpressed by johnson, and i didnt want him to win. he seemed like a tool on the golf course, and he was making me mad by constantly taking the sunglasses off the back of his head in a deliberate fashion, and quickly putting them on his face. it kept distracting me from his putting and short game, which was unbelievable. he laid up on every par 5 the entire weekend, and used short irons to set himself up with makeable puts. pretty smart way to win the masters with the highest score in tournament history (289).

the pirates home opener is currently going on, against the struggling cards. ian "im gonna strike out 11 astros" snell is pitching against braden "im supposed to pitch in the first 5-6 innings?" looper. this will be looper's second start of his career, after spending the past years as a reliever and closer. the cards are up 1-0, and chris duffy has the only pirate hit. UPDATE: jason bay just got pittsburghs second hit, moving adam laroche, who walked, to second. with only 1 out, hopefully x-man nady or paulino will knock in a couple runs. UPDATE: nady hit into an inning-ending double play. that sucks.

more later...