It's Over!

Yeah, you know what I'm talking about - the streak, or, rather, The Streak, the twenty year Longest-Losing-Streak-in-the-History-of-Professional-Sports-in-North-America, is now, finally, officially over. With the Pirates' 1-0 victory over the Texas Rangers last night, The Streak has now been relegated to ignominious history.

  

And how about that game. The pitching match-up between Texas' Yu Darvish and the Bucs' Gerrit Cole was one for the ages (or it would be if this game had taken place in, say, the World Series, or a Sunday Night ESPN Yankees-Red Sox game).  Darvish was almost unhittable, allowing only one hit in the first six innings, but Cole matched him....

....and gave Pirates fans a glimpse as to why he was selected #1 overall in the 2011 Draft. He was magnificent in his start last night, and what you saw makes you almost giddy with excitement as to what he might have in store for the Pirates and their fans in the years ahead.

And how about that other #1 pick, Pedro Alvarez going to the opposite field for a double that drove in the Pirates only run and won the game against Darvish and the Rangers.

More importantly, the win ended a four game losing streak and brought the Pirates within one game of the first place Cardinals, and put them a game ahead of the third place Reds.

In the post game interview on TV, Andrew McCutchen said all the right things about understanding what the 82nd win means to the fans, but that there are bigger goals to be reached, and on and on, but look at his face and the faces of his fellow outfielders at the top if this post.  You can't tell me that this game was just another win for the team.

Now, let's win 12 or 13 (or even 10 or 11) of the nineteen games left and have a deep run into October!

We need not refer to The Streak ever again, except as we might talk about some ne'er-do-well member of the family tree who is now deceased.  And with that in mind, a word about Sid Bream and Barry Bonds....

It is one of those unimportant things in life that has bothered me, like a stone in your shoe, that people, especially this summer as it became fairly clear that the team would have a winning season, to refer to "The Curse of Sid Bream" or "The Curse of Barry Bonds" because of Game Seven of the 1992 NLCS.  Can we please stop with that?  Sid Bream was a solid if unspectacular ball player, whose career included six fairly solid seasons with the Pirates, I might add, who was just doing his job that night.  Bonds was the Pirates best player and the NL MVP in 1992, whose throw to the plate was not quite perfect.  It happens.

There are lots of reasons not to like Barry Bonds, but that throw to the plate that didn't quite get Bream isn't one of them.  And there are lots of reason to like Bream, who has chosen to live in the Pittsburgh area long after his playing career has ended.  Neither Bream nor Bonds "caused" the twenty year losing streak.  Twenty years of lousy players, and lousier management decisions, caused The Streak.  Non-existent "curses" did not.

Home Run Derby Thoughts

So here was my night last night.  

I get home about 8:30.  Had Pedro Alvarez not been participating in the Home Run Derby, I would not have turned the TV on, but I did, just as Yeonis Cespedes was finishing his 17 homer stint, and just as Pedro was stepping into the batter's box.  Yes, I did watch his performance.  I'm glad he put on a show of sorts.  Some of his six HR's were real dingers, but I was glad to see that he did not appear to be over extending himself and swinging from his heals on every pitch.  I was also glad that he got passed up and did not go into the second round.

I will admit that I then watched Chris Davis and Bryce Harper take their cuts.  I'll tell you what, from the time I first became aware of Bryce Harper in that Sports lllustrated cover story when he was 16 years old, he has been a very hard person to like.  I guess he is this generation's version of Pete Rose - you like him if he plays for YOUR team, but can't stand him if he plays for the Other Guys.  (And admit it, Steelers fans, Hines Ward and James Harrison were those kinds of guys, too.)

Anyway, once I realized that Pedro was not going to advance to the next round, I switched to "The Big Break" (Spoiler Alert:  Was glad to see Chad get eliminated.  He was one obnoxious dude), and to my DVR'd "Pardon the Interuption".

When those shows were done, I went back to the HRD in time for the final Harper-Cespedes showdown.  Harper really looked like he was working hard.  Cespedes made it look really easy.

And Chris Berman was everything I expected him to be during the telecast.  Take that any way you wish.

Derby Disaster Averted

Has there ever been anything more overblown and and overwrought than the angst generated by David Wright's failing to select Pedro Alvarez to compete in the Home Run Derby at this year's All-star Game festivities?  Let's forget for a moment whether or not you like or dislike the HRD, or whether or not it serves any purpose other than filling up ESPN airspace and serving to further inflate Chris Berman's Hindenberg-sized ego, or whether or not it is a good idea to have a player subjectively choose who participates.  Those are separate questions and debates.  Rather, let's look at the reaction to Pedro's non-selection.

I was driving home from State College on Monday evening and listening to the Pirate game on the radio when the news was announced and to hear Tim Neverette's and Bob Walk's reactions and outrage, well, you would have thought that Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor once again.  Walk even suggested and encouraged fans to come out the the Mets series this weekend to boo Wright and "to let him have it".   That is so wrong on so many levels, I'm not sure where to begin.  And the next night, the announcers didn't let up.  Greg Brown celebrated Pedro's home run that game by saying "Take that, David Wright!"

All this over the Home Run Derby?  Really?  Has everyone lost their minds?

Interestingly enough, the one person I DIDN'T hear complain was Pedro Alvarez!

Well, the crisis has been averted, and Carlos Gonzalez has dropped out and Pedro has been selected to replace him.  All is right with the world, except for this.  There has been enough empirical evidence that players' performance drops off in the second half of a season after they have participated in the HRD.  Seems crazy, but check our Bobby Abreu.  I just hope that nothing like that happens to Pedro Alvarez over the rest of the season, but if it does, I hope all the people who whined about Pedro NOT being selected remember how they were bitching this past week.

Saluting the Pirates All-Stars

Should be no complaints about Pirate All-Star representation this year.  Congratulating and saluting these four well deserving Buccos.....

Pedro Alvarez....

Jason Grilli....

Jeff Locke....

And, for the third year in a row, Andrew McCutchen....

Play well in New York, guys!!!

Praising Neal, Pedro, Mark/Jason, and Austin

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box, Pirates Edition....

• I have come to the conclusion that it is time to declare a moratorium on the Neal Huntington Bashing.  Here's why:  A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, Jeff Locke, Francisco Liriano, Gerrit Cole, Charlie Morton, Justin Wilson, Bryan Morris, Mark Melancon, Jason Grilli, Jeanmar Gomez, Russell Martin, Garrett Jones, Gaby Sanchez, Jordy Mercer, Pedro Alvarez, Travis Snider, Mike McKenry.  Have I left anyone out? Oh, yeah, Clint Hurdle.   Each of those 18 players and one manager have played significant, if not huge, roles in putting the Pirates where they are today - the team with the best record in all of Major League Baseball at the halfway point of the season, and all of them are with the Pirates because of the maneuverings of GM Neal Huntington.  So maybe he knew what he was doing all along.
• All this, and the Pirates minor league system seems to be just bristling with top-notch prospects.  (I say "seems to be" because, as we know, there is no such thing as a Sure Thing when it comes to minor league prospects.)  Still, a much brighter outlook down on the farm than there was five years ago.
• Lots of grass still to be mown, but at this point, I'd say that NH is the leader at the half-way pole for Executive of the Year.
• This is not to say that he won't STILL drive me nuts with the NHB, though.
• So much energy and anger has been spent over something that has not yet happened - the Gerrit Cole return to Indianapolis - that I decided yesterday that I would no longer speak of it until it actually happened.  Plus, these things oft-times have a way of working themselves out organically, and the Wandy recovery setback seems to offer proof of that.
• With the conclusion of this afternoon's game with the Brewers, the Pirates will, literally, be halfway through the season.  At worst, they will be 50-31 and tied for first in the NL Central.  With a win today, they will be 51-30 and still have at least a one game lead in the Division.  Is "unbelievable" too strong a word to describe this?
• If on Memorial Day you said that Pedro Alvarez belonged on the All-Star team, you'd have been laughed out of town.  However, here is what he has done in 91 AB's in the month of June: .330 BA, 10 HR, 24 RBI, 15 R, and 1.127 OPS. Yeah, I'd say he should be on the All-Star team.  Of course, for the critics out there, he did strike out 33 times, and he still wears his hat funny.
• Too bad you can't have a "tandem" All-Star, because if you did, Mark Melancon/Jason Grilli would be a sure fire pick.  The Pirates play seven inning games because of those guys.
• As it is, I am sure that Grilli will be at Citi Field come July 17.
• I went back in the Grandstander archives last night to check out my pre-season forecast for the Pirates.  I predicted 79 wins.  Lots of ball still to be played, but the Pirates are on pace to make me look really, really stupid, and I'm loving every minute of it!
• Did you catch the in-game interview on Friday night with just signed first round pick Austin Meadows?  What a kick that was.  First of all, he's EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD.  I have neckties older than that.  But how refreshing he was (he appears to be the Anti-Bryce Harper).  Answered every question from Greg Brown and Bob Walk by saying "sir", and said his goal was to hit one in the river at PNC Park.  There is no way to know if this kid will deliver the goods someday for the Pirates, but after hearing him on Friday, I sure hope he turns out to be everything the Pirates hope he will be.

Let's all get ready for the second half of 2013.  It looks like it's going to be a fun ride down on the North Shore.

The Count is 0-2 on Pedro....

While watching the Pirates eventual 4-3 victory over the Brewers on Tuesday night, it occurred to me that there may be no surer thing in professional sports than a Pedro Alvarez strike out whenever he falls to an 0-2 count, but I wanted to know just how true that supposition actually is.  So, I went to the SABR Listserv and to Pirate Chat, and I was not disappointed.  

Before I lay it out for you, my thanks to Pirate Chatters Tim Lehrian and Mike Emeigh and to SABR guy, Dan Cichalski for doing the research.  All figures are through May 14 of this season.

Across Major League Baseball, batters who fall behind 0-2 respond with a batting average of .166, and OPS of .439, and strike out 44.4% of the time.  These figures include pitchers who come to bat in the NL.

For the Pirates as a team, including Pedro Alvarez, 0-2 batters hit .171 with an OPS of .425, and strike out 45.5% of the time.

As for Pedro, when he falls to 0-2, he has responded with a .063 BA, and he has struck out an astonishing 71.8% of the time.  For his career, Pedro has hit .100 and struck out 61.1% of the time in these 0-2 situations.

My intuitive suspicions have been confirmed: that Alvarez' performance in these situations are so far below the average major league batter as to be almost unbelievable.  Would this be one of those goofy stats for the Pirates to put on the Jumbo-tron during games?  Probably not.

I have no earthly idea what the Pirates can do or are planning to do to remedy this situation, but if someone, anyone, can figure out a way to fix this, they should probably be given the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year Award, or, at the very least, free tickets to any Monday through Thursday Pirates game.

Meaningful Games

For the past several years, as the Pirates piled one lousy season after another on top of each other, my mantra has been "All I want is to see some meaningful games played in September at PNC Park".  Well, September is two days away, and it looks like I'm going to get my wish.

The week began with a grim outlook: four straight losses with the Cardinals coming into town. A sweep by the Cardinals would be almost disastrous, and when the series began with the Bucs going down meekly with their best pitcher losing Game One to the Cards, well, a lot of people weren't feeling too good.  I myself noted on Facebook that the season seemed to be "rapidly circling the drain".  And I had tickets to both the Tuesday and Wednesday games where the fading James McDonald and the so-far-not-so-good Wandy Rodriguez were scheduled to pitch.

You know what then transpired.  The Pirates put together two of the best ballgames you could ask a team to play, 9-0 and 5-0 wins over the Cardinals.  They are now right back in the thick of the wild card race, and it looks like we are indeed going to see some of those "meaningful games" after Labor Day, and how great is that?  Hey, even last night's game was meaningful, because ti gave the Pirates an 8-7 edge over the Cardinals for the season, which would given them a home game if those two teams finish tied in the Wild Card race. How about that?

These last two games saw two excellent pitching performances by McDonald and Rodriguez, as well as 6 innings of excellent bullpen work, but all of that was overshadowed by those three absolutely monstrous home runs hit by Pedro Alvarez.  If you care enough about this topic, you already know the details and have probably seen highlights (which you can find on the Pirates website if you have not).  I remember once seeing Willie Stargell hit a home run into the fifth level at Three Rivers Stadium, and thought I'd never see anything like it again.  Well, each of these three dingers by Pedro were reminiscent of that blast.  I think that Alvarez is absolutely incapable of hitting a "cheap" home run.  The power that he generates is just awesome.

And since we have invoked the name of Willie Stargell, here are some interesting observations and comparisons, courtesy of my friend, Dan Bonk:

Pedro Alvarez is closing in on 1000 career at-bats. He is currently for every 21 ABs and 1 strikeout for for every 3 ABs. Willie Stargell similarly after 1000 ABs averaged 1 HR per every 22 ABs and 1 strikeout for every 4 ABs. Stargell's stats are superior especially when you consider he played at cavernous Forbes Field versus PNC Park and he achieved 1000 ABs a full year younger than Pedro. Still Pedro's stats compare favorably to Willie's at this point. Just sayin'!

Thanks for that bit of research, Dan.

OK, a trip to Milwaukee against the Hated Brewers, then home against the DisAstros and the Cubs.  I will be there on Monday afternoon, and can't wait!

LETS GO BUCS!!!!

By the way, I love the picture (from this morning's Post-Gazette) at the top here of Pedro watching last night's home run.  Love the look in his eyes and the bat still in the air as he lets it go.

The Bucs at the Break

I know that I have been a bit quiet of late about the Pirates - somebody actually told me that they don't always read The Grandstander because they don't want to read about the Pirates all the time; can you imagine such a thing? - so a few opinions at the All-Star Break.

• Eleven games over .500 and in first place at the Break.  Did you in your wildest dreams imagine such a thing on Opening Day?  Be honest now, because I sure didn't?
• What can you say about Andrew McCutchen?  18 home runs, 60 RBI's and a .362 average.  Haven't seen a season like this since Barry Bonds was winning MVP Awards at Three Rivers Stadium.
• In his blog today, Bob Smizik stated today that you Cutch will probably not maintain this severe assault on NL pitching, but, the scary thing is, he just might!
• Pedro Alvarez also seems to be coming around.  Perhaps we may have to endure some more of those fallow periods he has had, but when he does hit, wow!  As it is, he has 16 HR and 50 RBI's.  Project those numbers out for the rest of the year and I'll take 'em, even with the strikeouts and the sub-.250 BA.
• Pedro's two two-run RBI singles he had in back-to-back games last week might have been more impressive than any of his home runs this season.
• That 8-7 walk-off (Drew Sutton!!!!) win over Houston on Tuesday had to be the highlight of the season so far.  When was the last time you saw such pure, unadulterated joy on a professional playing field in any sport?
• And since Bob Smizik - and The Grandstander - wrote of cause for concern over the declining numbers for Neil Walker around Memorial Day, Pine Richland's Neil Walker has responded, capped by that 5-for-5 day yesterday that boosted his average to .291.
• One of the more encouraging signs from the past two weeks as we look ahead to the second half were the two strong performances by Jeff Karstens.
• I can't say for sure if the Pirates will make the playoffs, but I would be shocked - SHOCKED - to see any kind of implosion similar to what befell last year's team.  Having anchors like James McDonald and A.J. Burnett, and now maybe Karstens, will prevent any long losing streaks.
• What does GM Neal do at the trading deadline.  Another pitcher? A strong hitter for the corner outfield? Or does someone come up from Indy (Starling Marte, Rudy Owens?) to fill those needs?  Lots of speculation in the next three weeks.  My own guess is that Neal will look for a pitcher first with "a bat" second.
• McCutchen's participation in the Home Run Derby tonight is a mixed blessing.  I will be compelled to watch and root strongly for him, but will also have to endure the old, tired, and worn out act of Chris Berman.
• Finally, the Zoltan signal that has become the team's rallying point is silly, immature, and goofy, and I love it!  the fact that it sprung up internally from within the clubhouse, and not manufactured by some front office PR flack, is what makes this fun and meaningful for the team.  It serves the purpose of past seasons' Green Weenies, Stargell Stars, and "We Are Family" anthems.  If the team goes deep into the post season this year, Zoltan will surely be commercialized and over-done next year, but for now, let's enjoy it!!  Right, Andrew?