Padres Pound Pirates

by Zane Heiple

Photo by AP

The Pittsburgh Pirates looked awful tonight in their 15-5 defeat at the hands of the San Diego Padres.  It was very reminiscent of the 2010 season where whatever could go wrong did go wrong.  Bad pitching, poor defense, and an offense that could not produce when they needed a big hit were the factors that led to tonight’s blowout.

Early on the game looked like a tennis match as they teams traded runs and it even had that Pirates leading 4-3 going into the fourth inning.  That’s when the defense and pitching fell apart.  Pedro Alvarez made two bad attempts at ground balls which put runners in scoring position.  Luis Martinez would hit a fly ball to center field that was just out of reach of a diving Andrew McCutchen.  This led to a run that tied the game.  A single by Cameron Maybin would load the bases, which is when pitcher Jeff Karstens would walk the go ahead run in.  After some timely advice by pitching coach Ray Searage, Chase Headly would blast a grand slam to right center field putting the cap on a six run fourth and the game.

Pittsburgh did manage to score one more run in the seventh inning, but that was meaningless when San Diego would score six more runs after the huge inning they had in the fourth.  The box score really sums up this game for the Pirates.  They had a total of 15 hits and left 16 men on base.  What this should tell a fan is that they cannot get a big hit.  The most telling of this was by Alvarez who went 0-5 with three double plays.  He would also make his 12^th error in the field tonight.

While this team has many problems after dropping their eighth straight game tonight, the biggest has to be Pedro.  For a guy that was tabbed as the next Willie Stargell of the organization by media, he looks terrible on both sides of the ball.  His .206 batting average is a joke for an overall number one pick and he looks clueless when steps into the batter’s box.  While he does have a cannon for an arm, his throws tend to wild at times and he flops around for ground balls that are hit towards third.  The Pirates front office needs to seriously work with him in the offseason.  I don’t know if that means sending him somewhere during the winter to play or even starting him in AAA for the 2012 season, but it is getting to the point where if he doesn’t produce soon he will be added to the list of first round busts over these last 19 years of losing.

The Pirates will try and snap this losing skid tomorrow night at 7:05.  Starting for the Buccos will be Paul Maholm, while the Whale’s Vagina Fathers will send Cory Luebke to the hill.

Record vs. Padres:  2-2
Record vs. N.L. West:  9-11
Record at PNC Park:  26-30
Overall Record:  54-57

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Bullpen Falls Apart, Pirates Swept By Cubs At PNC Park

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

This has been a series to forget for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Following the toughest road trip of the 2011 season thus far, the Pirates and their fans were looking forward to returning to PNC Park for a seven-game homestand against two teams who were toward the bottom of the N.L. standings.  After three start losses to the Chicago Cubs, the Buccos entered tonight’s game trying to avoid a sweep to their division rivals, while also hoping to climb back to the .500 mark.

Despite a huge six-run inning tonight, the Pirates still came up short, losing their seventh straight game, dropping two games below the .500 mark, and have now fallen seven games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the N.L. Central.

James McDonald made the start for Pittsburgh tonight, hoping to end the losing streak and avoid the four-game sweep.  J-Mac threw seven innings, giving up four runs on just four hits, but did surrender three homeruns.  His on-mound opponent, Rodrigo Lopez, gave up six runs on seven hits through just four innings.

The Cubs got on the board first with the long ball, which has recently become their most reliable asset….at least in this series.  Geovany Soto hit a solo homerun in third inning to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.  Carlos Pena and Blake DeWitt followed that up in the fourth inning with a solo homerun and a two-run shot respectively, stretching the Cubs’ lead to 4-0.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Pirates’ bats finally got it going in the fourth inning.  Garrett Jones led off with a double, and later scored on Ryan Ludwick’s RBI single, his first as a Bucco, to get on the board.  After back to back singles by Pedro Alvarez and Ryan Doumit, Xavier Paul beat out a double play ball, allowing Ludwick to score from third base.  After a Brandon Wood walk loaded the bases, James McDonald hammered a bases-clearing double into the left-centerfield gap to give the Pirates the lead.  Andrew McCutchen’s RBI double scored J-Mac, stretching the Buccos’ advantage to 6-4.

The two teams’ stranded base-runners back and forth over the next few innings…until the eighth inning.

The typically-reliable Daniel McCutchen gave up two singles to Reed Johnson and Starlin Castro, then hit Darwin Barney to load the bases with no outs.  Clint Hurdle quickly brought Jason Grilli in, who gave up an RBI single to Aramis Ramirez to bring the Cubs within a run.  Hurdle then brought in Joe Beimel, who walked Pena on a full count to tie the game.  Jose Veras came in and got the Pirates out of the inning, but he did give up a sacrifice fly to Marlon Byrd, which scored Barney, giving the Cubs a 7-6 advantage.

The Cubs retired the final six Buccos in the eighth and ninth innings to close out the game relatively easily.  Jones recorded the final out of the game, hammering a fly ball to deep center field, just short of the warning track.

The Pirates lost in every way imaginable in this series.  The Cubs brought their big bats to PNC Park this week for the most of the series, and the Buccos simply couldn’t keep up.  Tonight, the offense finally delivered with a huge fourth inning, but they couldn’t muster another run the rest of the night, and the Cubs came alive in the fourth, taking advantage of the Pirates’ bullpen’s mistakes, scoring three runs in the eighth.

While earlier in the year, the Pirates found multiple ways to win games that they probably shouldn’t have, they have found ways to lose these games against the Cubs this week.  The starting pitchers had a rough start to the series, then the offense struggled last night, and tonight, it was the bullpen’s turn to surrender. The Bucs now have a losing record against the Cubs this year, and have fallen three games under .500 at PNC Park.

They won’t have much time to regroup, as the San Diego Padres come into town for a three-game series this weekend.  The Pirates will be trying to end their longest losing streak of the season tomorrow evening. 

Record Vs. Cubs: 6-7

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 25-20

Record At Home: 26-29

Overall Record: 54-56

Pirates Offense Waste Morton's Start, Lose Sixth Straight

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Getty Images

After a night where the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff was shelled for eleven runs, Charlie Morton did all he could to help the Buccos defeat the Chicago Cubs tonight.  Unfortunately the Pittsburgh offense was once again shut down, this time in a 1-0 defeat.

Morton rolled all night long as he would go seven innings allowing zero runs on seven hits, with seven K's and two walks.  The only jam that Chuck would be in all night came in the sixth when he allowed two singles and walked a batter to load the bases with two outs.  He was able to end the threat by getting Marlon Byrd to ground out.  Cubs starter Matt Garza was equally as good, also going seven innings striking out seven and walking two batters, but most importantly he did not give up a run.

The only run scored on the night came in the eighth inning when Pirates reliever Chris Resop gave up a solo home run to Starlin Castro.  Castro has been killing the Pirates this series as he has gone 9-14 in three games and will have a chance to improve that with one game left.

The offense was absolutley dismal tonight, which has been the story since the All-Star break. As a team they collected four hits, two from Pedro Alvarez, and left seven men on base.  The 3-4-5 hitters went a combined 1-10.

Coming into the home stand, the Buccos needed to beat the Cubs at least three times to keep pace with the Milwaukee Brewers.  The opposite has happend and it looks like any hope for late season magic and a run at the post season has all but ended.  Tonights loss drops the team to a game under .500 and 6.5 games back of the Brew Crew.  They will have one more shot at the North Siders tomorrow night at PNC Park.  First pitch is scheduled at 7:05pm with James McDonald going for Pittsburgh, while Chicago counters with Rodrigo Lopez.

Record vs. Cubs:  6-6
Record vs. N.L. Central:  25-19
Record at PNC Park:  26-28
Overall Record:  54-55

And...

As Always...

Let's Go Bucs!!!

Cubs Light Up Scoreboard in Rout Of Pirates

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

The Chicago Cubs are in the midst of yet another disappointing season.  Coming into tonight’s game with a 44-65 record, the Cubbies were 16.5 games out of first place, mainly due to their horrendously inconsistent starting pitching.  Despite their pitching woes, their offense has quite a bit of power bats in the lineup, and that was evident tonight, as they tattooed the Pirates with 21 hits, including six homeruns, on their way to an 11-5 rout at PNC Park.

Kevin Correia, who was coming into the game looking for his 13^th victory, continued his hideous pitching at PNC Park, failing to make it out of the third inning.  His on-mound opponent, Randy Wells, who is having a pretty rough year of his own, held the Pirates in check after a shaky first inning.  The Cubs’ right-hander gave up just two runs on five hits through six innings, walking only one while striking out seven batters.

The Cubs jumped on Correia and the Pirates right away tonight.  In the top of the first inning, Starlin Castro led off with a single, and stole second base to put a runner on scoring position with no outs.  After Darwin Barney singled, putting runners at the corners, Aramis Ramirez smacked a broken-bat single to left, scoring Castro, giving the Cubs an early 1-0 advantage.

Pittsburgh jumped on Wells right away as well.  After Andrew McCutchen singled and moved to second on catcher Geovany Soto’s throwing error, Garrett Jones hammered a full-count homerun to deep right center, giving the Bucs a 2-1 lead.  Unfortunately, the lead wouldn’t last long.

Correia continued to struggle in the second frame.  After striking out Alfonso Soriano to begin the inning, the Pirates’ starter was tagged for four runs, including a three-run homerun by Ramirez.  But the highlight of the inning came off the unlikely bat of Tyler Colvin, who blasted a solo homerun out of PNC Park, one-bouncing into the river.  It was only the 29^th ball in the history of PNC Park to end up in the Allegheny.  The Cubs owned a 5-2 lead after two, but it would only get worse from there.

Soto and Soriano would hit back-to-back homeruns in the third inning to end Correia’s evening.  Soto’s was a two-run shot, which scored Marlyn Byrd.  Alfonso’s blast, which traveled an estimated 440 feet, was the nail in the coffin for Correia.  He lasted just two innings, giving up eight runs on ten hits, inflating his ERA to 4.71.  The Pirates trailed 8-2 after a long and torturing top of the third inning.

Soriano was back at it again in the fourth, blasting his second homerun of the game, two batters after Byrd hit a solo shot of his own.  The Cubs continued their relentless attack on Pirates’ pitching, widening the lead to 10-2.

Castro added an RBI single in the seventh to give the Cubs an 11-2 lead.  It was his third knock of the game.  He, along with Barney, led the Cubs with a trio of hits a piece, while Ramirez led the charge with four RBI’s along with Soriano’s pair of solo homeruns.

The Pirates added three runs in the eighth inning and one in the ninth to make the score look a little more respectable.  Jones hit his second homerun of the game, and Brandon Wood hit a pinch-hit two run homerun, scoring Neil Walker.  Jones' sacrifice fly in the ninth closed the gap slightly to 11-6.  G.I. Jones had four RBI's on the night, one of the very few bright spots for Pittsburgh.

Obviously, this was a disastrous game for Correia and the pitching staff.  But what may be overlooked is that the Pirates’ offense, once again, struggled to score runs.  While they did score six runs, something of a rarity for the offense, four of the runs were scored at a point where the game was already out of hand.

This is clearly a game that the Pirates need to forget about quickly.  The term “must-win” is widely overused in sports, but it applies for the next two games against the Cubs.  Pittsburgh can’t afford to lose this series to Chicago, they can’t afford to drop any more games back of the Milwaukee Brewers, and mentally, they can’t drop below that .500 mark that has eluded the team for almost twenty years.

The Bucs will turn to Charlie Morton to turn things around and half the team’s current five-game losing streak.  After using seven pitchers in tonight’s game, Pittsburgh will need a strong performance from their starting pitcher.  Chuck will be looking for his ninth win of the season as he faces off against the Cubs’ Matt Garza.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.

Record Vs. Cubs: 6-5

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 25-18

Home Record: 26-27

Overall Record: 54-54

Lee's Two Home Runs Can't Lift Pirates Past Cubs

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Getty Images

There was a lot of energy at PNC Park tonight as Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick would make their debuts in Pittsburgh Pirates uniforms tonight as they did battle with the Chicago Cubs.  Lee would have an amazing night at the plate going 2-4 with two home runs and three RBI.  Ludwick did not have as much luck as he would go 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.  Unfortunately for Pittsburgh Lee’s homers were not enough as they dropped their fourth straight game with a 5-3 loss to the Cubs.

Paul Maholm was on the mound tonight and thru the first five innings looked like the pitcher we have seen all season long, consistent with little to no run support.  Thru five innings he gave up one run on one hit.  It was the sixth inning that would haunt him.  Maholm was hit hard this inning allowing three runs on three hits.  Walks also hurt Paul tonight as he would give up three on the night.  When it was said and done, Maholm would go 6 innings allowing four runs on six hits  with three K’s and three walks.  The bullpen held it together as Jason Grilli pitched one inning of scoreless baseball striking out one batter.  Daniel McCutchen did give up an insurance run to the Cubs in the ninth.  He would pitch two innings striking out one and walking two. 

The offense did seem to gain a little bit of a spark tonight as seven of the eight position players to start the game did have at least one hit.  Unfortunately they did not come thru when it counted as eleven Buccos would be left on base.  Another chilling statistic was that out of the ten Pirates hits on the night only three were extra base hits, the two Lee home runs and an eighth inning double by Neal Walker.  Pedro Alvarez had two singles tonight but made a base running error when he was picked off second base by Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano.

This four game slide has the Pirates only a game over .500 now after they had been as many as seven over.  It also sees them drop to 5.5 games back of the division leading Milwaukee Brewers.  If this team is not feeling the pressure of a pennant race yet, I’m not sure they will.  With the loss tonight, these next three games against the Cubs become that much more important.  Kevin Correia will look to have a good outing at home tomorrow, while Randy Wells will look to give the Cubbies their third win in a row.

Record vs. Cubs:  6-4
Record vs. N.L. Central:  25-17
Record at Home:  26-26
Overall Record:  54-53

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Meet Your Bucs: Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick

by Zane Heiple

With the trade deadline passing on Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates picked up two players that they hope will contribute towards making a run at the National League Central Division title in 2011.  On Saturday the Pirates acquired firstbaseman Derrek Lee from the Baltimore Orioles for minor league prospect Aaron Baker.  General Manager Neal Huntington was not done yet, as he made a move for Padres outfielder Ryan Ludwick before the deadline had passed for a player to be named or cash considerations.

Photo by zimbio.com

Lee is a former first round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 1993 Major League Baseball draft.  He would debut with the Padres on April 28, 1997.  In 1998 Derrek was traded to the Florida Marlins for pitcher Kevin Brown.  Lee would end up being a member of the Marlins 2003 World Series Championship team and win his first gold glove at first base that season.  After that World Series season he was traded again, this time to the Chicago Cubs.  His best overall season in a Chicago uniform came in 2005 when he would hit .335 with 46 HR and 107 RBI.  Even with his stats slowly dropping after this season, the Atlanta Braves sought him prior to the 2010 trade deadline where he was traded for three Braves pitching prospects.  In 2011 he was signed in the offseason by the Orioles.  In 85 games this year with the Orioles Lee is hitting .246 with 12 HR and 46 RBI.

Photo by zimbio.com

Ludwick was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the second round of the 1999 MLB draft out of UNLV.  Prior to the 2002 season he was traded to the Texas Rangers where he would make his big league debut on June 5 of that season.  This season would be cut short when he fractured his hip and ultimately lead to him being traded to the Cleveland Indians during the 2003 season.  Between 03-06 Ryan would spend time between the Majors and the Minors before being dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007.  His best year in the Majors came with the Cardinals in 2008 when he batted .299 with 37 HR and 113 RBI.  During the 2010 season he was sent to the Padres in a three team deal.  One of the reasons why San Diego felt like he was expendable to the Pirates was because of his struggles at Petco Park.  In 2011 Ludwick is batting .238 with 11 HR and 64 RBI.

While both of these players are past their primes, I feel that their experience in playoff runs with be a huge upgrade for the Pirates clubhouse.  This will also add some much needed pop to the Pittsburgh offense.  It was also good to see that the Pirates were buyers at this years trade deadline and did not have to give up hardly any talent to do so.

Ballpark Tour Citizens Bank Ballpark

On Saturday night, Fans From The Stands were in Philadelphia to watch the Pirates play the Phillies at Citizens Bank Ballpark.

Pregame Show:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t43YxXSBCg

Even though the Buccos lost Chad and Zane gave their complete game wrap up and insight on the nights action.

Postgame Show:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyvnk9RdNi4

Be sure to check back Saturday August 6 for our next video broadcast.  We will be at PNC Park to watch the Pirates take on the Padres.