Some Pirates Talk....

Some Pirates thoughts while awaiting the rubber match of the Cardinals series to begin.....

• Tuesday night's 4-3 fourteen inning loss was gut-wrenching, agonizing, aggravating, pressure packed, and ulcer-inducing.  Myself, I could not settle myself down to fall asleep for at least an hour after it was over.  But isn't this exactly what we have all been hoping for for the last twenty seasons?
• Lost amid the tumult and shouting over the Tuesday loss was the fact that Charlie Morton turned in a pretty nice pitching performance for the Pirates.  That is a good sign for the stretch run.
• If you are among those who accused Starling Marte of "hot dogging" and "showboating" when he dropped that fly ball on Tuesday because he didn't use both hands, will you also agree that every other outfielder in MLB hot dogs and showboats on every routine fly ball hit to them these days?  If you won't do that, then you haven't been watching very closely.
• That said, it sometimes drives me crazy to see guys making one handed catches.  I was taught to use both hands to catch a ball and that is how I played the game.  On the other hand, the highest level of organized ball I ever reached was intramural softball in high school.  I think that these guys are just a tad better than that.
• I learned long ago from a pretty good teacher - my Dad - that you can't fault a guy for making a physical error.  It happens.  The mental error made by Andrew McCutchen by staying on third base on that grounder in extra innings was a far more grievous sin that Marte's dropped fly ball.
• I also said on Facebook yesterday that we would learn a lot about the Pirates' make up by how they responded to that Tuesday loss.  Well, it was only one game, but Pedro Alvarez, Garrett Jones, and, especially, Starling Marte and Francisco Liriano sure responded in a positive fashion last night, didn't they?
• The Pirates could lose today's game, but they will still leave St. Louis with a two game lead, and a win would put them four ahead of the Cards.  Not too bad for August 15, I'd say.
• Bloggin' Bob Smizik points out today that the Pirates have strong, if not leading, candidates for MVP, Cy Young, Manager of the Year, and Executive of the Year Awards for 2013.  
• Let's give the Other Side a shout here, particularly, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright. On Tuesday night, he gave up three runs on 50 pitches in the first two innings, started the third inning by walking McCutchen and going to a 2-0 count on Alvarez.  HE was as on the ropes as any pitcher could have been.  He then induced Alvarez to hit into that 1-6-3 DP, and it was like a switch got turned.  After that he proceeded to pitch seven innings, throw over 120 pitches, put a lot of men on base, but gave up NO RUNS after that, and kept his team in the game.  For those of you who long for Old School, Big Time pitching performances, that was one right there.

And now, let's take a look at some random Pirates Prospects to date....

• Stetson Allie of the West Virginia Power:  244 AB / .324 BA / 42 R / 17 HR / 61 RBI / 1.021 OPS
• Stetson Allie of the Bradenton Marauders: 177 AB / .226 BA / 23 R / 3 HR / 18 RBI / .702 OPS
• Big difference in pitching when you go from Low Class A to High Class A, it seems.
• Josh Bell at West Virginia: 407 AB / .290 BA / 71 R / 11 HR / 72 RBI / .826 OPS
• Pitcher Tyler Glasnow, West Virginia: 8-3, 2.50 ERA, 140 K, 51 BB, 97.1 IP
• Pitcher Luis Heredia, West Virginia: 4-3, 3.18 ERA, 34 K, 22 BB, 45.1 IP

And how about the Pirates two first round draft picks of 2013, now playing for the Gulf Coast League Pirates?

Reese McGuire: 129 AB / .326 BA / 22 R / 0 HR / 17 RBI / .781 OPS

Austin Meadows: 121 AB / .314 BA / 21 R / 3 HR / 14 RBI / .923 OPS

Now, the Gulf Coast League is a long, long, long way from the Major Leagues, but it looks like McGuire and Meadows are off to a nice start in their professional careers.

OK, let's all cheer on a win for the team in St' Louis this afternoon and set the goal of winning individual series from here on in.

Let's Go Bucs!                                           

Gerrit Cole Arrives, and Other Pirates Thoughts

Gerrit Cole, the young man who was the subject of so much sturm und drang  on Facebook's Pirate Chat and other social media when he was sent to the minors at the close of Spring Training, will make his debut as a Pirates this coming Tuesday when he starts against the San Francisco Giants.   This start will come just a little over two years after Cole was selected by the Pirates with the overall Number One selection in the major league entry draft.  Despite all the criticism - much of it coming from this particular Grandstand, I admit - of the Pirates and the NHR for keeping guys in the minor leagues too long, Cole's ascension to a starting pitching assignment, against the defending World Series Champs, no less, has been remarkably swift.  In the grand scheme of things, Cole's "long-awaited" debut, will not have taken all that long after all.

I had promised myself that when Cole did make his first start, I would be at PNC Park to see it.  Turns out that Tuesdays happen to be our Caring Place night, so, alas and alack,  I will not be there to usher in the Gerrit Cole Era.  Perhaps this is a good thing, because I recall being at Three Rivers Stadium for the debuts of both Doug Frobel and Chad Hermansen, so Cole doesn't need that particular mojo going for him.  The DVR will be cranked up and I will rush home to see what I hope will be the first of Cole's 200 wins, give or take a few, that he will register for the Pirates over the course of his career.

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It was a tough week for the Bucs who after taking 3 of 4 from the Tigers, were swept by the Braves and lost 2 of 3 to the Reds.  At the beginning of that stretch, I had wished for a 5-5 record, but I'll take 4-6.  They will have to do better against the Reds in future match-ups, but the important thing is that there WILL be more games against the Reds this season, and remember, the Pirates are 4-3 against them so far in '13.  And, of course, there are still a lot of games to be played against the Cardinals, who don't seem to ever lose a game. 

It also looked like the best cure for such a stretch was a three game series against the Cubs, as the Pirates go for a sweep today.

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Speaking of the Major League Entry draft,  the Pirates selected 41 players this week, many of whom will be selling insurance or coaching high school baseball five or so years from now (as will most guys drafted by the other 29 MLB teams), but it will be fun to see which guy drafted after the 30th round will catch fire and become the Next Big Thing in the Pirates system and, we hope, at PNC Park someday.  Wasn't Dave Parker drafted after the 30th round?  And, of course, all eyes will be on the two first round choices, OF Austin Meadows and C Reese McGuire.  As high schoolers, they are a long way from Pittsburgh and PNC Park, but the potential of big things lie ahead for both of them, and, as I said, it will be fun following them along the way.

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I am ready for the following headline when young Mr. Meadows becomes a Pirate and has his first multi-home run game:

AUSTIN POWERS BUCS TO BIG WIN

Of course, by the time Meadows finally does arrive in Pittsburgh, the pop cultural reference to "Austin Powers" will be completely lost to everyone reading the newspaper, if, indeed, there still are newspapers then.

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Sticking with the theme of Pirates draft choices,  one of the more intriguing story lines over the past two seasons has been that of Stetson Allie.  You all know the story, a high school pitcher who could throw at close to 100 mph, Allie was drafted in the second round in 2010, right behind Jameson Taillon, given first round bonus money ($2 Million) to sign, but then bombed as a pitcher to the point where the Pirates decided to make him  a first baseman.  In 2012, Allie didn't do much of anything, and he was starting to look like another very expensive bust of a draft pick, but in 2013 playing in Low Class A West Virginia, Allie has become Babe Ruth:

AB - 224

BA - .326

HR - 16

RBI - 55

OPS - 1.016

But here is the curious thing.  If you go to the Pirates website, you can link into the the Pirates "Top 20" minor league prospects to follow how they are doing, and Allie does not appear in the Top Twenty.  I am not sure what this means.  It could be that he is #21 on the list and will crack it once Cole get promoted, or it could mean that he is the next Brad Eldred. Whichever it is, it will be fun to watch the Stetson Allie Story play out over the next couple of seasons.

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One of Allie's teammates in West Virgina, OF Josh Bell, is on that Top 20 list, and is ranked at Number Six.  His numbers in 231 AB's are as follows...BA of .277 with 8 HR, 45 RBI, and an .815 OPS.  Good, but not as good at the numbers Allie has posted.  Again, I don't know what it all means.