All Hail Don "Mr. 10,000" Lancaster

With their 39th win of the season, and the 10,000th win in "Pittsburgh's" (more on that later) major league history, the 10,000 win contest came to a close last night, not, in the words of poet T.S. Eliott, with a bang but a whimper, and the winner was Don Lancaster.  The contest wasn't even close.

Of the 21 entries in the contest, Don's was the most optimistic.  He said that win number 30 would come in game number 65, and last night's game was number 65 for the Pirates this season.  Don hit it right on the nose!  Don's performance was like a Jason Grilli eight pitch save - quick, efficient, and deadly to the opposition.

Don's prize "of small monetary value" went out to him in today's mail.  Nothing great, but something that might come in handy along Rt. 22 as Don commutes to and from PNC Park. He also receives the mythical "Jim Haller Trophy", named in honor of the guy who first pointed out that win number 10,000 would come sometime in 2013.

Don won this contest in the manner of Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont Stakes.  The next closest entrant was Mike Jones who called for this win in game number 76.  Most people, twelve of the twenty-one entrants, predicted that the win would come in the 80th to 83rd game range.  As Pirates fans, I guess we should all be happy that Don was correct in his prediction.

We never even got to the tie-breakers, but just for kicks and giggles, let's see how they would have played out based on last night's game:

First TB: Winning Pitcher was Francisco Liriano.  Only one entrant, Dave Jones, had Liriano. Don's pick was Jared Hughes.

Second TB: Starling Marte got the first Pirate hit of the game.  Ten entrants, including Don, had Marte on this one.

Third TB: Alex Presley got the first Pirate home run of the game.  No one had Alex on this one.  Don's choice was Russell Martin.

Fourth TB:  There were 18 total Pirates hits in the game.  The closest to this figure was eleven (11) hits, which was predicted by five entrants, including Don. 

There was an interesting article in the Post-Gazette over the weekend as to why the Pirates themselves are not recognizing this as the 10,000th win in their history.  It seems that these 10,000 wins include 236 wins accumulated between 1882 and 1886 when the Pittsburgh Alleghenies were members of the American Association.   Major League Baseball and most baseball historians recognize the American Association as a "major league", hence their inclusion in the totals for "Pittsburgh" as shown on www.baseball-reference.com and MLB stats.

The Pirates themselves do not include the stats and totals from Pittsburgh's five years in the AA.  They only consider the records from 1887, the year the Alleghenies, soon to be the Pirates, entered the National League.  No big deal, and I can see the Pirates viewpoint in this regard.  

What it means, I suppose, is that we will have to conduct yet another 10,000th Win Contest for when the Pirates accumulate their 236th win starting from today.   I am figuring this should come sometime late in the 2015 or early in the 2016 season.

Golfing, Falling, Pirates Winning, Neal Does Well, and a New Award

Cleaning Out the Mental In-Box, Memorial Day Edition.....

• Had a delightful round of golf today at Moon Golf Club.  Well, the company - Dan Bonk, John Coley, and Fred Shugars - was delightful.  The golf, not so much.  I have been playing golf for 30-some years now and am approaching age 62, so I am what I am as a golfer, so I don't get angry anymore when I play poorly, but I do get disappointed when I just know that I'm capable of playing better.
• A note to the Moon Golf Club:  I want a rematch, at which time I intend to kick your ass!
• Hey, how about those Pittsburgh Pirates???? 31-19 after taking two of three from the Hated Brewers in Miller Park!  When things like that happen, maybe it's a sign that this is the year that the World Record Losing Streak ends. Still a lot of grass to mow, however.
• A little over a week ago, we all looked forward to what was thought to be a soft part of the Pirates schedule, 13 games with the Brewers, Astros, and Cubs.  The Pirates came through that patch with a 10-3 record.
• Now the team faces ten games against good teams, the Tigers, Reds, and Braves. Five games at home, five on the road.  I'll be happy with 5-5 on that stretch, and would love it if it included two of three against the Reds.
• 10,000th Win Contest Update:  The Pirates are playing at a .620 clip that, if maintained, would bring win #39, aka, the 10,000th Win in Team History, on the 63rd game of the season.  This pace is making Don Lancaster look like Secretariat in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.  Don called for this win to take place in game #65.  No one else is even close.  It will take a losing stretch of epic proportions (kind of like what happened last August) for Don to not take this prize.  
• Speaking of Don Lancaster, this past Tuesday he won his primary election race for Borough Council in Indiana, PA.  Go get 'em in November, Don!
• The performance of the Pirates is being sparked in large part by the following factors: (1) the Other Worldly performance of closer Jason Grilli, who became the closer due to the Joel Hanrahan trade, (2) the also Other Worldly performance by set-up man Mark Melancon, who was obtained in the Hanrahan trade, (3) the spark plug performance by catcher and free agent signee Russell Martin, who some have stated has been the team MVP, (4) five wins by Wandy Rodriguez, (5) five wins by Jeff Locke, (6) continued outstanding performance by AJ Burnett, (7) solid performances from fifth starter Jeanmar Gomez., and (8) a 3-0 start by free agent signee Francisco Liriano.
• What do the eight guys listed above have in common?  They all were brought here by the maneuverings of General Manager Neal Huntington.  Yes, I who have spent so much time and blog space bashing the NHR since the close of last season, now must give the GM credit where it is due.  Oh, he still drives me crazy with his line of say-nothing NHB, and there is still two-thirds of a season to be played, but so far, a "Well Done" to GM Neal for 2013.  Final grade to be delivered in October.
• Speaking of Joel Hanrahan, there seemed to be some gloating among Pirate Chatters (the Neal Loyalists?) when he started poorly with the Red Sox, and even some "told-you-so" type comments when he had to undergo season ending surgery, which I felt was bad form.  Hanrahan served the Buccos loyally and well, especially in 2011-12, I, for one, feel bad about what has befallen him since the trade, and wish him well when he returns in 2014.
• Do any of you out there watch "Mad Men"?  If so, do you agree that last week's episode was bizarre at best and downright awful at worst?  Let's hope that that episode was an aberration or else we could be talking shark-jumping here.
• I mentioned earlier that I will be turning age 62 in a few months. Not sure there is a correlation here, but yesterday morning, while crossing a North Side street on my way to breakfast with some friends, I fell down.  Don't know what happened, what caused the misstep, but all of a sudden, it was "DOWN goes Frazier!"   Skinned my knee, jammed my wrist, and suffered major embarrassment, but otherwise, came out okay.  The lesson is, something like this can come out of nowhere, so, as they said at the Hill Street Station "Be careful out there."
• Maybe that fall explains my complete inability to hit a wedge shot or make a putt today.
• How about that nutty Sergio Garcia?  First there was his incessant whining about Tiger Woods two weeks ago at the Players Championship, followed this week by, to be kind, racially insensitive comments about Woods at a press conference in Europe.  For all of Sergio's utterances, we bestow upon him The Grandstander H.A. Citation.  Hey, Sergio, this is for you:

(Photo courtesy of Dan Bonk Enterprises)

• The "H.A. Citation" will now become a semi-regular feature of The Grandstander. 
• And I will accept nominations for future Grandstander H.A. Citations, so let me have your suggestions.

10,000th Win Contest Closed

The entry deadline for the Pirates 10,000th win contest has passed.  A total 21 entries were received and will compete for the (mythical) Jim Haller Trophy and a small, as yet to be determined, prize with a small monetary value.

Here is a look at the names of the entrants and their prediction as to what game the magical 39th win will occur:

Name	Game Number
Don Lancaster	65
Mike Jones	76
Ted Knorr	77
Meg Minard	78
Mark Ecklund	79
Jim Haller	80
Dan Bonk	80
Gale Suwalski	81
Dave Cicotello	81
Jerry Frissora	82
Bill Evans	82
Pat Jones	82
Fred Shugars	83
Bob Sproule	83
Ron Loshelder	83
John Coley	83
Roger Hansen	86
Dave Jones	88
Bill Montrose	88
Jim English	90
Bill Sproule	93

As you can see, 13 different games were chosen by the entrants, with Don Lancaster being the most optimistic, and Bill Sproule the most pessimistic.  The most popular game chosen was the 83rd game (four guesses), which, barring rainouts, will take place on July 2 against the Phillies.  The most interesting reasoning for a selection came from Dan Bonk.  Game #80 will take place (again, barring rainouts) on June 28, which will be the 43rd anniversary of the last game played at Forbes Field.  He likes the mojo associated with that date.

I am choosing not to list all the tie-breakers here, but here are some interesting facts about them:

• A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez were selected by five people as the winning pitcher for the game.  J-Mac and Gerrit Cole were selected by three, and Jason Grilli, Francisco Liriano and Jeff Karstens by one.  Most interesting, to me anyway, were the two votes for Jared Hughes.
• Ten people thought that Starling Marte would get the first hit, which appears to be a good selection based on early returns.  Eight votes here for Andrew McCutchen.
• As for the first home run, the leading vote getter here was "no one".  Eight people think the Bucs will be kept in the yard on this night. Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez each received four votes.
• As for the number of Bucco hits in the game, here's how it breaks down: 5 votes for 7 hits, 2 for 8, 6 for 9, 3 for 10, and 5 for 11.

Thanks for participating.  I guess that this contest will now go into hibernation until mid- to late June, and then we will start tracking this seriously.

Good luck.

Announcing A Contest for All Loyal Readers

This is a first for this Blog.  The Grandstander is using the occasion of Opening Day of the baseball season to announce a contest that I hope will be fun for all.  The name of the contest is....

"THE 10,000th WIN CONTEST"

As out favorite baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, embark upon the 2013 season this afternoon, the franchise, according to www.baseball-reference.com, has recorded 9,961 victories.  That means that with their 39th win in 2013 the Pirates will become only the sixth franchise in Major League history to reach that victory plateau. 

You would think that someone in the Pirates marketing / public relations department would be beating the drums over this, but, no, they have chosen to pretty much ignore this, if they are even aware of it at all.  The Grandstander, however, is not going to let this pass.  Thus, The 10,000th Win Contest.  It costs nothing to enter.  This truly is for amusement purposes only.

The rules are simple:

• Predict the game in which the Pirates will win their 10,000th game, or their 39th win of the season.  You do not have to state the date of the game or the opponent.  Just state something along the lines of "the Pirates will get their 39th win in the 60th (or 85th or 95th) game of the season".  Simple, right?

Of course, there will no doubt be ties, so the tiebreakers will be as follows:

• First tiebreaker:  Who will be the winning pitcher for the Pirates in the game?
• Second tiebreaker: What Pirate will record the Pirates first hit in the game?
• Third tiebreaker: What Pirate will hit the Pirates first home run in the game?
• Fourth tiebreaker: How many hits will the Pirates record in the game?

Please email your entries to me at rfsmms@verizon.net. I will record them all, track the contest, and report progress of the contest as the magic 39th victory approaches.  You have until April 15 to get your entries in to me.

Every contest should have a prize, right?  At this point, the only prize we know of for certain is that the winner will be the respect and admiration of all Grandstand readers and Facebook Pirate Chat members.  I will consider another prize in the days ahead, so long as it doesn't cost me a lot of money.  So far, though, only "bragging rights" are up for grabs.

My thanks go out to friend, SABR member, and Pirate Chat Founder Jim Haller who is the one who pointed out in the first place that the Pirates were on the brink of their 10,000th victory.   If there was a trophy for this contest, it would be called the "Jim Haller Trophy".

Thank you and get those entries in the email to me as soon as possible!!