From The Fans In The Stands: PNC Park Memories

Hey Bucco fans!  A couple weeks ago, we gave away free tickets to this past Saturday’s game against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.  Fans emailed us here at Fans From The Stands telling us about their most memorable moments at PNC Park.  Below are a couple of the stories we received from you fans out there!

“August 7, 2010:  The Pedro walk-off.  You already know what happened, the situation, and all that.  But here’s my story from that night:  It was probably as loud as PNC Park has ever been/will ever be.  The place was literally ROCKING.  I could feel it shaking.  This, not to mention the George Thorogood and fireworks show afterwards.  The dude was hilarious.  Talking about the Pirates being the best franchise in pro sports, and even though he didn’t grow up a fan, he’s not a huge supporter of the Pirates, etc.  I could smell the alcohol on his breath.  He kept the place rocking though.  That whole night was amazing.  The fireworks were a letdown.  That’s how electric the place was.  Other than that, the only complaint I had on the night was that when they played Greg Brown and Steve Blass’s call of the homerun, I couldn’t hear it because of the insanity that was still taking place around me.  As soon as I got home, I was on a mission to find the audio and/or video."

-Brandon

“My best memory of a Pirates’ game I attended at PNC Park was on 6/28/04.  It was a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.  With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and the score tied 1-1, Jack Wilson came up to bat.  He crushed the ball into the left field corner.  He had an easy double and the ball was thrown into second.  Albert Pujols, who Wilson did not see, was late getting to the second base bag so he continued on to third.  When Pujols caught the ball he had plenty of time to get Wilson, but his throw sailed on him and the Cardinals’ third baseman Scott Rolen was unable to catch the ball and it rolled towards the Pirates’ dugout.  The Pirates won the game 2-1.

-Mike

Have something to say?  Want to post something on the website?  Send us an email, message, article, or anything else you’d like to share Pirates-related at fansfromthestands@yahoo.com or comments@fansfromthestands.com.  Throughout the entire season, we’ll be posting comments and articles from you, the fans.  After all, that’s what this site is all about!  The Fans!

Bucco Blast From The Past: Jack Wilson

By Chad Carlson

For this week’s edition of Bucco Blast From The Past, we look back at the career of Jack Wilson.

Also known as Jumpin’ Jack Flash, as he as annoyingly and consistently referred to by Greg Brown, Wilson was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1998 amateur draft.  He was later dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jason Christiansen in 2000, making his Major League debut with the Buccos a year later.

In his nearly eight years with the Pirates, Jack certainly was one of the more memorable and fan-friendly shortstops in recent memory.  After enduring moderately successful seasons in 2002 and 2003, Wilson had the best year of his career in 2004, setting personal career highs in almost every category.  He ended the year with a .308 batting average, collecting 201 hits in 157 games.  He became just the ninth shortstop in National League history to collect 200 hits in a season, the franchise’s first player since Dave Parker in 1977, and the team’s first shortstop since Honus Wagner in 1908. 

He tallied 12 triples (sharing the league lead), 41 doubles, 11 homeruns, and accumulated 49 RBI.  After hitting eighth in the batting order for most of his career, he became a fixture in the second slot. 

Wilson also won a lot of notoriety for his defensive accomplishments.  He led the National League shortstops in assists and total chances in 2004, and his 129 double players led all Major League shortstop and broke the club record of 128.  Jack was named to the 2004 All-Star Game and won the Silver Slugger at shortstop.  He was also the Pirates’ representative in the Roberto Clemente Award balloting.

After an injury-plagued 2005 season as the result of an appendectomy, Wilson attempted to regain his offensive swagger in the next few seasons, but to no avail.  While his defensive numbers were still impressive, his batting average and offensive production continued to steadily decline.  From the 2006-2009 seasons, Wilson was periodically mentioned in trade rumors, but nothing serious ever came of them…that is, until 2009.

After months of rumors and his open comments regarding his dissatisfaction with the organization’s penchant for trading their most notable players, Wilson was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with Ian Snell for Ronny Cedeno and Minor League players Jeff Clement, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, and Nathan Adcock.  The trade, taking place on July 29, 2009, was a shock to everyone, including Wilson himself:

“A shock.  I really don’t know what to feel.  I’m definitely going to miss it.  I definitely loved it there-aside from the record.  The city of Pittsburgh is a perfect place to raise my family.”

Wilson signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Mariners in November 2009.  He was sidelined with a fractured right hand for the final two months of the 2010 season, playing in just 61 games total after battling a hamstring issue early on.  He has struggled at the plate over two years in Seattle, batting a combined .240 in 92 games.  He has spent the 2011 Spring Training season battling Brendan Ryan for the starting spot at second base.

Regardless of how his tenure ended here in Pittsburgh and what he goes on to do in Seattle or elsewhere, we Pirates’ fans will always remember Jumpin’ Jack Flash as one of the “good guys,” and one of the best defensive shortstops the city has seen in a long time.

Be sure to check back next Tuesday to see who’s featured in the latest edition of Bucco Blast From The Past!

And...

As Always...

Let's Go Bucs!

Ronny Cedeno Proving Himself At Shortstop? Does It Even Matter?

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

As the Pirates near Opening Day 2011 in just a couple weeks, there are still a number of questions surrounding the club.  One of the lingering inquiries when discussing the team’s position when they open things up in Chicago on April 1 is the Pirates’ shortstop situation.  What can we expect from Ronny Cedeno?

Cedeno, of course, came over in the trade that sent Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to Seattle.  I still remember Wilson crying on camera when he talked about how he felt like he was leaving his home and his friends.  That seems like such a long time ago, but we still questions surrounding a position that is a given for most teams in the league.

Let’s keep things in perspective here.  I’m not going to sugar-coat this for people.  We’re Pirates’ fans, so I’m going to give it to you straight.  Ronny Cedeno is our shortstop for this season.  For better or for worse, he’s going to lace them up, day after day, in 2011, regardless of his performance.  There simply isn’t anyone else who will be a significant upgrade to Cedeno, at least not on a consistent basis.

While we’re certainly not expecting an All-Star performance from him this year, he does need to provide some type of stability at the plate and in the field.  He did that for the most part on the field, but his hitting slumps throughout the latter part of 2010 were enough to drive any Bucco fan crazy.  He’s more than likely going to be hitting in the eighth spot in the lineup on most nights, in between Chris Snyder and the pitcher’s spot in the lineup.  Worried yet?

Obviously, Chase d’Arnaud is the long-term answer to the question of who is the short-stop of the future.  He’s just simply not ready to be an everyday major league ballplayer yet.  He needs one more year in the minor league ball, but, if the past several years are an indicator, management may try to bring him up in early September to get his feet wet in the majors.  We’ll see.

Other than d’Arnaud, the standouts from Spring Training thus far are Pedro Ciriaco, Josh Rodriguez, and Corey Wimberly.  All three have been given (and earned) significant playing time this year in the Grapefruit League, and, for the most part, have performed well.  One of these will more-than-likely snag a spot as the team’s backup middle infielder, and will be a sufficient substitute for Cedeno’s off-days.  Still, though, at this point, the Pirates’ number one shortstop is Ronny Cedeno.  If he fails this season, then the Pirates are just willing to live with that.  

Don’t expect them to make any late season moves to compensate for this either.  As we all know, that’s not the Buccos’ style.

How do you feel about the Pirates’ shortstop situation?  Send us an email at comments@fansfromthestands.com. 

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!