Game 23: Pirates at Dodgers

Again?

BTW is back, and I am p!ssed!

72-12

0-7

Every Pirates fan knows these numbers from the last week.  Seven loses averaged out at a 6:1 run differential.  What an embarrassment.

What is more embarrassing than 18 straight losing seasons?  How about the last week of baseball?  Or maybe a starter who carries an ERA over 16 getting a vote of confidence that he will not lose his spot in the rotation?

Huntington needs to do something.  And he needs to do it soon.

Russell should be on a short leash, his days as Pirates manager are likely numbered.  Russell is a prime candidate for scapegoat.

Dave Kerwin/Joe Kerrigan is another prime candidate as a scapegoat.  The pitching staff is a complete joke.

Neither of those moves will fix what is happening.  But those are the types of moves that are all too common in baseball today.

Russell sounds like his hands are tied when it comes to Charlie Morton.  Morton is nasty for a trip through the lineup.  Then he is canon fodder.  Hmmm?  A pitcher who is nasty for one trip through the lineup?  That sounds to me like a prime target for the bullpen, that is severely taxed after the last week.

But it won’t happen, at least not in April.  The battle cry of every team struggling in the early season, “It is only April, not the right time to panic.”

Still, a starter with a 16.20 ERA is ridiculous.  No matter what month it is.  If Russell doesn’t have the power to move Morton to the bullpen, where he may be able to gain some confidence back, then Russell is nothing more than a figurehead.  This is not the sign of a manager who should expect an extension at the end of the season.

What can Huntington do?

The pitching has stunk.  The hitting has stunk, especially with runners in scoring position.  They get on base, but no one can drive them in.  Look at how many times in the last week the Pirates have had the bases loaded and left the inning empty handed.

Having a 6 hole hitter struggling to sniff the Mendoza line doesn’t help.  It kind of has the feel of Adam LaRoche in his time in Pittsburgh, at least until June came around. I know the team has high hopes for Clement, but his rope should be shorter than that leashed to Russell.  Clement has looked horrid at the plate occasionally showing outfield grass power. 

If I was the opposing team, I would not give Jones and Doumit anything to hit, knowing they will chase with the team struggling so badly.  The worst case scenario?  You walk both to get to Clement.

If Huntington and crew don’t want a mass rebellion against the team and ownership, larger that what is already brewing, he needs to fix what he can with what is available.

Bring up one of the young promising talents from Indianapolis to appease the fans?  It doesn’t matter who, just show us some signs of the future? 

Lincoln?  Fine, even though he really needs a little more seasoning.

Tabata? Better, move Jones to first.  He still isn’t ready, but he is the closest to it.

Alvarez?  Still good, but he still needs improvements against lefties.

Appeasing fans is the quickest way to move any GM to the top of the scapegoat list.

Save those players the embarrassment.  For now.  They will have plenty of time to spend in Pittsburgh to earn themselves either shame or a huge free agency paycheck 6 years later.

A roster move doesn’t even need to occur to fix some of the offense.  Church goes to right and Jones moves to first.  End the Clement experiment.

Move Morton to the pen and let him work on things there.  If he can lower his ERA to something that starts with a single digit, slide him back into the rotation.  Who starts?  I don’t care, start a reliever.  Any of the relievers on the team could go 3 innings.  Just make it a bullpen day at the park.  Carrasco has started in the past.  Give him a shot.

All I want is the best team on the field.  Neither Clement nor Morton should be on the starting lineup card anytime in the near future.  Huntington needs to allow Russell to try to manage the team and win games, not just be a scapegoat.  There are plenty of scapegoats available.  Let’s spread the wealth.

 

Update 12:36 a.m.:  Jeff Karstens has been recalled from Indy.  Raynor has been DFAed.

 

While I was out

Jakubauskas getting hit in the head Saturday was the most disturbing injury I have seen since Jason Kendall broke his ankle running to first.  I didn’t see the video until today, and I still can’t believe he walked to the cart.  My prayers are still going out to him.

 

BTW News

My family member is recovering nicely from a heart attack.  I will likely still be distracted for some time with this, but we are trying to get back to life as normal as possible in the meantime.

Game Day Threads should start up again soon.  Hopefully they will be part of an expanded setup that includes pregame notes, similar to past seasons.

Game 13: Brewers at Pirates

Game 12: Reds at Pirates

I won't be able to make the game today, but the rest of the bloggers will still be there. As always, this is managed by RTJR.

 

 

Game 11: Reds at Pirates

Game 10: Reads at Pirates

Sorry for late post, busy day with Tee Ball practice and a birthday party.

Game 9: Pirates at Giants

Game 8: Pirates at Giants

Game 7: Pirates at Giants

Game 6: Pirates at Diamondbacks

Game 4: Pirates at Diamondbacks

Game 3: Live Thread

Game 2: Live Thread

Opening Day Live Game Thread

Blackout Lifted

The blackout has been lifted in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ local television market for MLB Network's simulcast of the Pirates at Boston Red Sox Spring Training game tomorrow, March 13, at 7:00 p.m. ET (delay from 1:00 p.m. ET start time). MLB Network will carry NESN’s call of the game.

Garrett Jones

A couple days ago Chuck Finder answered questions on the PBC Q&A as to whether Garret Jones can maintain his performance.  Well, in a rare event on BTW, I am going to try and put some numbers together and let you come up with your own answers…Of course I will give my opinion as well.  After reading the Q&A I felt a need to postpone the 40 Man post until tomorrow night.

40 Man – Around The Corners

First
The options at 1st base are somewhat limited.  Steve Pearce had a chance last season to show he was capable of being an everyday MLB 1B, unfortunately his bat has yet to show above AAA.  His career BA is .237 in 378 PA’s with 8 HR’s. 

The next option is Jeff Clement, a converting catcher.  He has some experience, 28 games, playing 1B in the minors.  Hardly enough to consider him a seasoned player.  At the MLB level, he is a career .237 hitter with a limited sample size of 243 AB’s with 7 HR’s.

Comparing Pearce and Clement is like comparing two peas from the same pod.  Both have limited MLB at bats batting .237.  The HR numbers are very similar as well.  The only real difference?  Pearce has much more experience through the minors as a 1B.

Which leads me to who I am picking to start the season at 1B, not a shocker at all.  Garrett Jones and his .276 BA with 23 career home runs.  I want to emphasize start the season.

40 Man – For Starters

The first 4 are pretty much a given, the order is what is not a given.  The first 4 will be Maholm, Duke, Ohlendorf and Morton.  I’ll dig into what the order will be sometime in the next week.

For this post I am looking at who I see as the 5th starter.  The front runners are Hart and McCutchen.  Veal has an outside shot at the spot, but he really needs to be stretched out a bit in the minors as a starter after spending 2009 coming out of the pen as a rule 5 pickup.  Brad Lincoln also has a shot, but the Pirates seem dead set to keep him in AAA for at least the start of the season.  Think arbitration clock and you will know why.

Let me preface my prediction by saying one thing, don’t expect the loser to spend time in Indy. 

McCutchen is too much like Duke and Maholm by being a finesse pitcher, although from the other side of the rubber.  By being too much like Duke and Maholm, this actually lends more to a rotation spot than spending time in the bullpen.  Would you want the same type of  pitcher relieving a guy who just got pulled after 3 innings?

I am leaning towards McCutchen, more because he had 179 IP’s last year between AAA and Pittsburgh, that would allow him to go around 210 innings before the Pirates would start pulling back on the reins.  In other words, McCutchen could go the entire season as a starter and not reach an inning limit.

Hart had approximately 133 IP’s last season between minors and majors.  The Pirates would have to shut him down or limit him when he got around the 165 IP mark.

Hart has the pitches to really fit in the pen.  In the last 2 seasons, he has spent more time coming out of the pen than starting.  Over the two years, Hart has appeared in 89 games between the minors and majors.  Of those 89 only 32 were starts.  The Pirates do look at him as a starter, but he will either need to be stretched out this year, possibly in Indy, or be tabbed as a long reliever.  My bet is as a reliever and emergency starter.

My call for the 5th starter:  Daniel McCutchen

 

Walking:

Once again, for the 4th year,  I am walking in the MDA Stride and Ride event and  I am looking for sponsors.  If you can find it in you heart to donate a little, it does not have to be much as every dollar helps, it would be greatly appreciated.  Please sponsor me in this worthwhile cause.

You can donate online at my MDA page that can be found here:

https://www.joinmda.org/MyStrideRide/MyHomepage/tabid/121966/Participant/dharr18/Default.aspx

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.

Tee Ball and Rookie Ball…

Tomorrow, actually in just a few hours, my youngest boys turn 5.  Their names are Alex and Nick.  No, they were not named after the twins in Full House.  I didn’t know that was their names until well after the boys were born.  This morning we (Me, Momma, Nick and Alex) discussed whether they wanted to play tee ball this year like their older brother (7) T.J. did last year.  A resounding yes was heard from both.

Before I go any further and bring this into a Pirates post, I need to say one thing:
Happy Birthday Nicky and Alex.

More on Takahashi

From MLB Trade Rumors:

9:01pm: The Pirates have emerged as a destination for Takahashi, according to a report fromSanspo passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.  The report also notes that the Dodgers are targeting other pitchers and the Mets were "moving towards an MLB contract," but couldn't agree on money.

Meanwhile, Takahashi was set to throw for teams today in Arizona, according to an article from Sponich passed along by Newman.

 

BTW Notes:

Monday I will be doing the much unanticipated site updates, some have already found there way online like the twitter feed to the right.  I have 3 blogs I will be adding to the blogroll as well as a few cosmetic changes and a link to possibly the best Pittsburgh Sports Forum on the internet….

Who ‘Dat?  Congrats to the Saints and Drew Brees.