Giants @ Pirates 5/7/08

Going into this game I was concerned about Barry Zito dominating the Bucs and gaining the confidence necessary to fully regain his starting job. Yes, you read that correctly. See, the Pirates can’t hit awful pitching. They can leave perfectly capable pitchers like Brett Myers wondering what went wrong. They even held their own against Johan Santana. I wouldn’t be surprised if they lit up Brandon Webb for 8 runs but they can’t hit awful pitching.

A perfect example can be seen in the Nationals’ series. The starting pitchers the Pirates faced were Odalis Peres, John Lannan and Matt Chico. Not exactly Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. If one were to ask most GM’s which of those three they would take the unanimous answer would be 23-year-old John Lannan. After all, he was entering the game 2-2 with a 2.64 era. Anyway, the Pirates drop 2 of three. Take a wild guess which one of these pitchers the Pirates roughed up for their only win. Now you see why Zito concerns me.

Luckily, the Pirates had Phil Dumatrait. A former 1st round draft pick, Dumatrait was once the focal point in the Red Sox deal for former flash in the pan Scott Williamson. He came to the Pirates after being placed on waivers by the Reds this off-season after getting his first cup of coffee in the bigs which ended up being extremely forgettable. While to this point he has been the best off-season acquisition (time will tell but I believe that Marino Salas will ultimately be the best player the Bucs picked up this off-season), one would hardly confuse him with the dominant pitcher that the Bosox believed they had drafted back in 2000. Fortunately, Dumatrait was facing the pathetic San Francisco Giants.

Dumatrait gave the Bucs nearly 6 inning of shutout ball while striking out five and only walking one. Xavier Nady provided the entire offense with a 2-run homer off of Zito in the 4th and a rare run producing GIDP in the 8th. In reality, those were the only stories of the game. I’m happy to get the win but the only thing to really take away from this game is that while our beloved Buccos may be bad, The San Francisco Giants are much, much worse. Brian Sabean had one decent year as a GM in 1997 when he traded Matt Williams for Jeff Kent and Julian Tavarez. Since then he had just been riding the Bonds express while doing just enough to keep his job thanks to the occasional brain dead GM offering one sided deals that he couldn’t refuse (Hello Littlefield’s Schmidt for Vogelsong and Rios masterpiece) and Bonds turning into a superhuman. I’m reaching out to San Francisco fans here. We know how you feel and maybe we can help each other. Keep the faith and perhaps someday the Bucs will be playing the Giants in the playoffs.

"Consistency is the Key"

It was the summer of 1997, I remember it like it was yesterday. I stepped foot onto my first high school football practice. We all gathered into a big circle as Coach Tim Krysiak began his opening season speech about the upcoming year. "Consistency is the key," he said to us. That year we pulled out a strong 0-10 showing. We went on to win 5 games total the following two years before I quit. I'm sure I'm not alone.

Every year, like that 15 yr old kid in us, we line up our vehicles in the parking lot awaiting the first pitch of the new year. Then, like in practice, we tune in our TV's endless nights hoping for change. What exactly are John Russell and the Pirates orginization doing much different from my favorite Coach K?

I value the hard work Sean Burnett has put into this orginization after multiple surgeries. I also have to give a nod to John Van Ben. for his triumphant return, but lets be honest with each other. Are we really excited about the fact that two top draft picks, be it from different years, have made it to the majors once again? Or are we excited about thier level of play since thier return?

Looking into a bullpen once filled with Rule 5 draft pick Evan Meek and this years white flag Franquelis Osoria, it feels like Thomas Ian Nicholas is trotting onto the field when thier numbers are called. I dunno whether to celebrate or cry while my PTSD from the last 15 years succombs my brain. Thier play has been average at best, but like every Pirate pitcher in years past, we'll wait and pray to a God who I swear thinks we don't exist.

Meanwhile, lets focus on the batting order. While I agree with Russell's decision to drop McLouth in the order tonight, he didn't drop him far enough. Now batting for your Pittsburgh Pirates, number 38 Jason Bay. While 6 home runs in the month of April is admirable, we're still left with the fact he's posted 11 RBI's this season and I don't care how many times he walks. If he wants to be a sissy and never swing at the ball unless the bases are empty, then why is he in the 3 hole?

Doumit steps in next. It sucks he can't catch everyday, enough said. Nady's 2 RBI's put him ahead in the NL RBI lead by one. Well done. What a 5 hitter is supposed to do. Adam Laroche...well he hit another dong tonight. Just enough to keep you hoping for the opening year slump to end, but I'm not sold. He's still batting below the Mendoza line while Bautista, after the series of his career, was batting behind the Pirate killer. It makes my head hurt.

Duke's stellar outing proves what we all know through basic baseball knowledge. Keep your team in the game and your offense will try and win one for you. I guess it was Duke's turn to earn his job for another month. I swear they must draw straws in the locker room every week.

I haven't given up yet. But after losing 3 of 4 to our nations capital, if we don't pull out a series and we're already down by one when Barry Zito is scheduled for his return to the rotation tommorrow night I might have to check myself into a psychiatric ward. Worse yet go to the horse track and gamble a lot of money because I suck. I will inevitably lose all the money I take with me and that might numb the pain of being a Pirates Fan.