Bucco Blast From The Past: Jeff King

by Zane Heiple

Photo by sikids.com

With the Pittsburgh Pirates selecting Garrit Cole as the overall number one pick in the 2011 draft, it marked the fourth time in the 125 year history of the club that they selected the first pick.  On this week’s edition of Bucco Blast From The Past, we look at the first number one overall pick that the team made, Jeff King.

King was picked out of the University of Arkansas in June of 1986 and would spend the 1987-88 seasons playing for the Harrisburg Senators, before making his Major League debut on June 2, 1989.  While he didn’t have the Hall of Fame career you would hope for with a number one pick, he was a key part to the Pirates string of three consecutive National League East titles from 1990-92.  He would spend eight seasons in a black and gold uniform and have a .258 batting average, with 99 home runs, and 493 RBI. 

After a career best year in 1996 that saw him hit .271 with 30 home runs and 111 RBI he would be traded along with Jay Bell to the Kansas City Royals for Joe Randa.  King would only play in 2 full seasons for KC as back problems forced him to call it a career in late May of 1999.

While Jeff King did not live up to the potential of a number one overall pick, he still holds a special place in the baseball memories of those of us old enough to remember those early 90’s Pirates teams.  Be sure to check back next week for another edition of Bucco Blast From The Past.

Karstens, Bullpen Shutout Astros

by Zane Heiple

Photo by AP

After a 6-4 home stand, the Pittsburgh Pirates headed to Texas for a three game series with their division rivals the Houston Astros.  While the Astros have the worst record in baseball, Minute Maid Park was not kind to the Buccos in 2010, where they posted a 0-9 record.  Jeff Karstens would be given the task of getting their 2011 campaign in Houston off to a winning start, while Bud Norris would counter for the Stros. 

Garrett Jones got the Pirates on the board with no outs in the second inning, when he hit a single to right field that scored Neil Walker. 

That would be the only run of support Karstens would receive in his 6.2 innings pitched tonight.  He would strikeout three, while only giving up three hits.  Chris Resop would come out of the bullpen and strike out the only batter he would face to close out the seventh.  The Astros also had a strong outing from their starter.  Norris would finish his day pitching seven innings allowing one run on six hits, while striking out nine and walking two. 

The Pirates would use three pitchers in the eighth inning to collect the three needed outs.  After walking a batter to put runners on first and second with one out, Jose Veras would be able to get Jason Michaels and Michael Bourn to fly out to end the threat.  The Houston bullpen would shutdown Pittsburgh’s offense as they would not give up a hit in two innings of work.

A 1-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth set the stage for Joel Hanrahan to close out the game.  He would collect his 18^th save of the year by getting the first two batters to ground out and then Ronny Cedeno made a diving catch to finish of the win for the Buccos.

Another great night by the pitching staff led the Pirates to victory.  Hanrahan collected his 18^th save tonight, the Buccos surpassed their 2010 road wins total tonight with their 18^th road win for this season, and Pittsburgh once again is at the .500 mark.  Hopefully Pittsburgh can get over the .500 mark and stay there starting tomorrow when these two teams battle again at 8:05.  Charlie Morton will take the ball to the hill tomorrow for the Pirates.

Record vs. Astros:  3-1
Record vs. N.L. Central:  14-10
Record on the Road:  18-15
Overall Record:  33-33

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Maholm Throws Seven Shutout Innings, Pirates Beat Mets 3-1

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Paul Maholm’s record isn’t good.  In fact, based on wins and losses alone, it would be easy to say that the Pirates’ left-hander has had a rough year.  To those following the club, though, we know that one thing, and one thing only, can be blamed for the shallow number of victories:  lack of run support.

Tonight, Maholm didn’t get much run support, but his seven innings of shutout baseball kept the opposing offense in check, and his teammates came up with enough offense to fend off the pesky New York Mets, winning the game 3-1 at PNC Park.

Maholm won his third game of the season, giving up just three hits and two walks through his seven innings of work, lowering his ERA to a miniscule 3.12 for the season.  Mike Pelfrey, who pitched a solid game for Mets, took the loss, giving up two runs on four hits, falling to 3-5 for the year.

The Pirates got on the board in the first inning.  After a Jose Tabata leadoff single, Xavier Paul smacked a base hit into the outfield.  Tabata was thrown out at third on the play, or so it seemed.  Moments later, Tabata was ruled safe at third base, as it was ruled that the Mets’ Jose Reyes interfered with the Pirates’ left-fielder on the base path.  Reyes was charged with an error, and the Buccos had runners at first and third with no outs. 

The very next batter, Neil Walker, hammered a single up the middle, scoring Tabata to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.  Although the inning fell apart after that, the Pirates still took the early advantage.

Both pitchers dominated the early innings from then on, with a slight hiccup from Pelfrey in the fifth inning.  Brandon Wood, who made a dazzling defensive play in the first inning for a double play, hammered a solo homerun to left field over Jason Bay’s head to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

As is with any Bucco game, no lead was safe.  Jose Veras took over for Maholm in the eighth inning, giving up a run on one hit and issued a walk before Clint Hurdle pulled him from the game without recording a single out.  Tim Wood came in and retired the Mets quickly. 

With two runners on and no outs, Reyes smacked a sinking liner to left field.  Tabata made a sliding snag, then throwing over to first base to double up the Mets.  Ruben Tejada did tag and score from third base, cutting the Pirates’ lead in half at the end of the top of the eighth.

The Buccos got that run back in the bottom of the inning.  After back-to-back singles by Ronny Cedeno and Andrew McCutchen, Tabata slapped a ball down the third base line, beating out the throw and loading the bases.  After Paul struck out, Walker drew a walk, allowing Cedeno to score. 

The Pirates’ lead of 3-1 was more than enough for Joel Hanrahan, who closed out the game with relative ease, recording his 17^th save of the season.

Despite sitting out the majority of the game, McCutchen extended his current hit streak to twelve games.  Tabata was the only Pirate to record a multi-hit effort, while Walker tallied two more RBI’s. 

With the victory tonight, the Pirates earned a split with the Mets, while also finishing out the home stand with a winning record.  The Buccos went 6-4 in series against the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Mets.  This is a very impressive stretch here by the Buccos, as they are the types of series that build confidence in the clubhouse.  The Pirates have proven that, when they play well, they can beat the league’s top teams. 

Immediately following the game, the Pirates jumped on a plane to Houston for a three game series with the Astros.  Jeff Karstens will get the start for the Buccos tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:05pm.   

Record Vs. Mets: 4-4

Record Vs. N.L. East: 8-12

Record At Home: 15-18

Overall Record: 32-33

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

Meet Your Bucs: Michael McKenry

by Zane Heiple

Photo by mlb.com

With injuries to catchers Chris Snyder, Ryan Doumit and Jason Jaramillo, it is easy to say the Pittsburgh Pirates are in dire need of help behind the plate.  Late Sunday night they went out and made a trade with the Boston Red Sox to acquire minor league catcher Michael McKenry for cash considerations or a player to be named later.  In order to make room for McKenry, Wyatt Toregas was sent back to AAA Indianapolis.

McKenry is a former 2006 seventh round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies, whom he would make his Major League debut with on September 8^th, 2010.  He was then traded to the Red Sox in March of 2011 and has spent all of this season with the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox.

This season in Pawtucket, he has hit .274 with 3 home runs and 12 RBI.  Defensively he has thrown out 5 of 19 base runners.  A big reason why he was acquired is that Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and coach Mark Strittmatter spent time working with Michael during their time with the Rockies.

Catcher is a very important position on the diamond and while it is very tough to replace players with the experience of Snyder and Doumit, it is good to see the organization make a move to help sure up the need of a player behind the plate.  Be sure to check back often to Fans From The Stands for the latest roster moves.

Mets Score In Later Innings To Shutout Pirates

by Zane Heiple

Photo Courtesy of AP

Today’s game felt like it had two parts for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Innings 1 through 6 were an easy cruise for starter Kevin Correia, while innings 7 to 9 were a mess for Correia and the Pirates bullpen.  Meanwhile, the New York Mets pitchers had no trouble handling the Bucco offense.

Correia would go a total of 7.2 innings today while allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out four.  All four of the runs he gave up came in the seventh and eighth innings.  He started the first four innings with a perfect game, but that fell apart in the later innings.  New York got on the board in the seventh when Jason Bay hit a sacrifice fly that scored Daniel Murphy.  Angel Pagan was forced out at second when he did not retouch the bag while going back to first.  Then Mets then scored four runs in the eighth inning to take away any hope of a Pittsburgh comeback.  Scott Harrison and Jose Reyes would then hit back to back solo home runs off of Daniel McCutchen to give the Mets a 7-0 victory.

As stated earlier, New York’s pitching staff had no trouble handling the Pirates offense.  Starter Chris Capuano pitched seven innings allowing only three hits while striking out five and walking two.  He was followed by Jason Isringhausen and Bobby Parnell.

These kinds of losses have been piling up for Pittsburgh in 2011, where we have a solid outing by a starter that is wasted by lack of offense.  While Correia did give up four runs, who knows how the game would have turned if the offense would have given him three or four runs of support before the Mets had a big eighth inning.  These two teams will finish up this four game series tomorrow night at 7:05pm.  Paul Maholm will start and hopefully the bats will wake up and score some runs.

Record vs. Mets:  3-4
Record vs. N.L. East:  7-12
Record at Home:  14-18
Overall Record 31-33

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Meet Your Bucs: Tim Wood

by Zane Heiple

On Friday, Evan Meek returned to the disabled list with tendinitis and a small tear in the labrum of his pitching shoulder.  He was placed on the 15-Day DL and has been quoted as saying that the injury will not require surgery.  To fill his spot on the roster, the Pittsburgh Pirates called up relief pitcher Tim Wood from the AAA Indianapolis Indians.

Tim was originally drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 44^th round of the 2002 draft.  He would then make his MLB debut on June 25, 2009.  After being released by the Marlins at the end of last year, he would begin spring training with the Washington Nationals, before being released and signing a minor league contract with Pittsburgh.  Before this year he has appeared in 44 games with a 1-1 record, an ERA of 4.18 and 1 save.  In the two days that he has been with the Buccos he has pitched in 2 innings allowing one hit and one walk.  Before coming up from Indianapolis, he had 13 saves and a 2.96 ERA, while not allowing a home run in 23 appearances out of the Indians bullpen.

While injuries have become common over the past few weeks for the Pirates, they continue to play well this year as a team.  Young arms like Wood will have to pitch at a high level if Pittsburgh hopes to break their streak of 18 straight losing seasons.  Stay tuned to Fans From The Stands for more roster updates throughout the 2011 season. 

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

McCutchen Drives In Two, Pirates Beat Mets 3-2

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

After one of the more disappointing losses of the season last night, the Pirates were back in action this evening against the New York Mets at PNC Park.  As expected, this was a closely-played ballgame throughout, with the Pirates making the big plays down the stretch, earning a 3-2 victory and evening the four game series at a game a piece.

James McDonald took the hill for the Buccos, facing off against the Mets’ knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. 

McDonald wasn’t his best tonight, but did enough to keep the Pirates in the game.  James gave up two runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out two through his six innings of work.  The victory improved his record to 4-4 with a 4.80 ERA.  His on-mound opponent pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on eight hits.  The loss dropped Dickey to 3-7 for the season.

Fans From The Stands' Chad Carlson and Zane Heiple made their predictions before the game:

The Mets took the lead in the first inning off a fielder’s choice groundout by Daniel Murphy, scoring Ruben Tejada.  The lead didn’t last long, though.  Garrett Jones hammered a double to the deepest part of the ballpark in the second inning, scoring Neil Walker, evening the game, 1-1.

Andrew McCutchen delivered what would eventually be the winning hit in the third inning.  Cutch’s two-run double drove Jose Tabata and Josh Harrison home, giving the Pirates a lead that they wouldn’t give up for the rest of the night.

The Mets did inch closer in the fifth inning on Carlos Beltran’s RBI single to right centerfield, scoring Jose Reyes.  But that would be the last the Mets would threaten, and the Pirates took home the victory.

The bullpen did a fantastic job tonight.  Tim Wood, Tony Watson, and Jose Veras collectively pitched two innings of shutout baseball, setting the stage for Joel Hanrahan.  The Buccos’ closer set the Mets down in order in the ninth inning, securing his 16^th save of the season, much to the delight of the standing-room only crowd at PNC Park.

The Pirates once again rebounded from a tough loss to earn a very important victory.  Their starter, while not pitching his best, worked his way through six innings without surrendering an insurmountable number of runs, and the bullpen shut the door on any potential threat. 

Collectively, the offense did a nice job tonight.  Tabata, Harrison, and Jones each had two hits, while Cutch and Brandon Wood added a knock a piece.  Neil Walker was held hitless once again tonight, dropping his batting average to .255.

Check out the post-game show from PNC Park:

The Pirates are once again close to zoning in on the .500 mark.  Sitting at 31-32, the Buccos will take on the Mets tomorrow afternoon at 1:35pm.  Kevin Correia will make the start for Pittsburgh, looking to win his ninth game of the season.

Record Vs. Mets: 3-3

Record Vs. N.L. East: 7-11

Record At Home: 14-17

Overall Record: 31-32

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!