Torres to Return as Closer

Most Pirates fans should be questioning their loyalty to the team after reading that headline. Torres is coming back as closer after what, 2 games? And in those two games, Salomon gave up a lead-changing 2-run shot to Andre Ethier. Why then, is Torres replacing Matt Capps in the closer role?

Don't get your panties in a bunch, Sally. Its a part-time deal. Remember when Capps was ejected for plunking Prince Fielder on the arm? He was subsequently suspended for 4 games. Capps has his suspension-appeal-hearing this weekend, and Torres will replace Capps during the appeal and suspension process. That means Torres, who has been shaky all season, will be called upon to pitch against the Yankees.

Now I know the Yankees of today aren't the Yankees of, say, 7-8 years ago. Paul O'Neill is nowhere to be found. But let us look at The Buccos interleague stats from last year. The Pirates sported a 3-12 record, with a .269 team batting average and a 5.47 ERA. Interleague usually spells doom for the Buccos, so I don't care if the team is playing the Devil Rays, Yankees or BoSox. The bottom line is, the Pirates hardly stand a chance against the American League, no matter the team being played.

At least Torres hasn't regained the entire closer role. I think Capps can do a good job as closer. I mean, he's been really the only Pirate player to show any life/excitement this season. Throwing at Fielder, Capps was asserting his ability to throw inside, no matter who is up at the plate. Not many other Buccos have shown that much life this season. Seriously, are teams intimidated by a roster that includes Jack Wilson, Don Kelly, Humberto Cota (who was just designated for assignment, finally) and Nate McLouth?

Hopefully the Pirates can hold their own against the struggling Yankees. If Pittsburgh can win 2 of 3, and basically tread water while Capps sits out (since I doubt the suspension will get overturned), then the team knows it has a viable option to close out games for the rest of the season.

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.

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.