Pirates Journal

GAME 1

The good news? The Pirates are in 1st place…. The bad? If they play 161 more games like this, John Russell and all of the fans might be dead…..

First, the key- we won-12-11 in 12 innings. This game will not make the instructional DVD series but was entertaining to say the least.

Pirates made Braves starter Tom Glavine work and did not chase bad pitches. Braves young IFs made some key errors that led to runs and did not help the staff. Ian Snell competed and kept the team in the game til the Pirates bullpen took the game over with a lead. Jason Bay made several fine catches in LF and Jack Wilson made a game changing play on a doubleplay ball in the 5th.

Pirates took an early 1-0 led in 2nd when Jack Wilson scored on an throwing error by 2b Kelly Johnson. Braves answered in the 3rd when Snell committed the ultimate sin walking the pitcher, Glavine came around to score on SS Yunel Escobar’s 2 RBI triple, after another run it was 3-1 Braves. The Pirates got a run back in the 4th on some good situational ball by the bottom of the order, leadoff man Nate McLouth drove in Jose Bautista but Jack Wilson was gunned down at home by CF Mark Kotsay. Braves C Brian McCann homered to RF to put the Braves up 4-2. With Glavine out of the game, Pittsburgh got it to 4-3 on a RBI groundout by Jose Bautista. The hometown team tied it in the 7th off a combo of 3 relievers and a throwing error on a routine play by young Braves SS Yunel Escobar.

Newly acquired RHP Tyler Yates pitched a strong 7th and they responded by scoring 4 runs on Home runs, first a solo shot by RF Xavier Nady and then a Huge 3 run HR by McLouth. LHP John Grabow pitched a strong, clean 8th and the Pirates added an insurance run on a Jose Bautista sacrifice to make it 9-4 going into the bottom of the 9th… then things got interesting!!!!

LHP Damaso Marte mixed in a strikeout among 3 walks and Manager Russell summoned his closer, Matt Capps. He then walked his first batter. Then Chipper Jones hit a hard single to right, 9-7. Then things went sideways… again! With 2 outs, Brian McCann hit a high pop up into short, mid Left center that Bay and McLouth misplayed and allowed to drop between them to tie the game at 9. Capps regained his composure and got us to the 10th by getting a fly out with a great diving catch by Nate in CF.

The game stayed at 9-9 til the 12th when Nady hit a tremendous HR to right to score McLouth and Bay to make it 12-11. RHP Franquelis Osoria stayed on the mound for his 2nd inning and got two quick outs. Then Jeff Francoeur homered to left,12-10. Mark Kotsay hit a double and scored on a Matt Diaz single. Osoria ended the drama by getting C Corky Miller, the last Braves player on the bench, to fly out to McLouth to end the game.

WOW….

Nice win, one crazy inning kept this from being a really nice, easy late game win. Team made the Braves pay for errors, got some runs with outs and had some key players(McLouth and Nady) get some big hits. All positive signs and things contending teams do. Good execution throughout the lineup and they made a Hall of Fame pitcher work. Defense, except for the 27th out, was great and the pitchers threw the ball well.

One interesting game note was the team started Ryan Doumit at C instead of Ronny Paulino. Manager John Russell believed Ryan’s plate discipline would make this a good matchup and still lists Paulino as his starting backstop.

Star of the Game- RF Xavier Nady-4-7 -2 Hrs and 4 RBI

Day off Tuesday—-LHP Tom Gorzelanny for Pittsburgh vs Atlanta answers with RHP Jair Jurrjens Wednesday- 7:10 start

Character win!!!!
ENJOY 1st PLACE!!!!

Pittsburgh Pirates-
Cf- Nate McLouth
2b- Freddy Sanchez
LF-Jason Bay
1b-Adam Laroche
Rf-Xavier Nady
C- Ryan Doumit
3b-Jose Bautista
SS-Jack Wilson
P- Ian Snell

Atlanta Braves

2b- Kelly Johnson
SS- Yunel Escobar
3b-Chipper Jones
1b- Mark Teixeira
C- Brian McCann
Rf-Jeff Francoeur
Cf- Mark Kotsay
Lf-Matt Diaz
P- Tom Glavine

Team News…LHP Paul Maholm thru a 50 pitch session recently and reported no back issues… he is good to go

AL CENTRAL

1-Cleveland
2- Detroit
3- Kansas City
4-White Sox
5- Minnesota

1- Cleveland

Good-Tremendous high end talent at CF and C in Sizemore and Victor Martinez plus the top 2 SPs in Sabathia and Carmona….. deep bullpen…. deep, versatile lineup— good athletes and underrated D….. GM Shapiro and Coach Wedge have been together for a while— 3-4-5 SPs are solid

Bad-Closer terrifies me, Todd Jones JR… no elite 40 HR bat unless DH Travis Haffner comes back…. CC Sabathia contract situation could be a distraction plus he is viewed as soft under pressure, how does he react?

2-Detroit-
I live out here so bare with me, outside of the Red Sox, I know this team the best….

Good- Outstanding lineup — if healthy- team fell apart when Gary Sheffield got hurt— best #2 hitter in BB in 2b Polanco…. best 3-4-5 in the Majors in Sheffield-Ordonez-Cabrera…Top level ace in Justin Verlander…. excellent locker room manager in Jim Leyland…. SP has upside, particularily with Willis… GM Dave Dombrowski is among the best in the game…. Brandon Inge is either a super utility guy or trade bait

Bad-Can anyone here pitch? Bullpen is among the worst in the majors, magnified by injuries to Fernando Rodney and Joel Zimaya….3 SPs terrify me in Dontrelle Willis(hit like Tina Turner in the NL), Kenny Rodgers(bad arm, caught cheating) and Jeremy Bonderman(50K talent, 5 cent head)…. Star CF Curtis Granderson’s hand injury could be season long nag… Todd Jones could make Gandhi violent

Tell me why?- 1-This team made the Edgar Renteria trade? SS was a need with Guillen going to 1st but they gave up 2 of their elite prospects to get a guy who was miserable failure in his 1 AL season…. trust me, I am a Sox fan, he looked like he would rather be in Iraq than Boston!… this team needs RP and has little to trade with…. 2- Why they put Miguel Cabrera at 3b with Brandon Inge here? Inge is an elite 3b and Miggy is a mess…. Jacque Jones is a 4th OF platoon type….. this team is better with Inge at 3b and Miggy in LF…. the Red Sox have won 2 World Series with Miggy’s twin brother Manny Ramirez in LF! This team needs infield D and Inge helps the staff.

Tigers Bullpen candidates by seasons end….Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch, Jason Isringhausen, Huston Street, Matt Capps, Brian Fuentes, Scott Proctor and do not laugh… Trevor Hoffman

3- Kansas City-My Surprise team….

Good-Top 3 SPs(Meche,Bannister,Greinke) are very good and they have one of the best young closers in the game in Joakin Soria…. AL breakout player in 3b Alex Gordon…. talk of the spring bat in Billy Butler… good defensive team.. exciting new manager in Trey Hillman, aggressive GM in Drayton Moore

Bad-Not enough hitting and power in the AL— division has 2 teams that spend $$$$(Detroit,CWS) and the other two have strong farm systems and organizational structure(Cleveland and Minnesota)…losing mentality

4- Chicago White Sox-

Good-Good veteran power guys— added 2 high energy players in OF-1B Nick Swisher and SS Orlando Cabrera, one of the more underrated ML players… elite closer in RHP Bobby Jenks… good top 2 SPs in Buehrle and Vasquez

Bad- Average to bad SPs after the top 2… bad team D…. Manager is volatile and insane…. Stadium is a launching pad… new set up guys are fly ball pitchers, particularily RHP Scott Linebrink , who pitched in San Diego for most of his career…

Keep an eye on…OF-2b Alexei Ramirez— super athlete who plays a position they need at 2b.. Alfonso Soriano type skills

5- Minnesota

Good-Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer among the top players in the game…. excellent manager in Ron Gardenhire…. resigned closer Joe Nathan

Bad-Lets run thru this teams offseason…

1- Lost CF and team leader Torii Hunter and replaced him with lunatic Delmon Young and Craig Monroe

2- Trade Johan Santana— the new #1 starter…LIVIAN HERNANDEZ-

Bad, bad team, young and poor SP, platoon type players in the INF….

Keep an Eye on….Manager Ron Gardenhire… he might hang himself by June

AL WEST

1-Seattle
2- Los Angeles
3- Texas
4- Oakland

1- Seattle

Good-Deep top 5 SP, led by elite top end guys in Felix Hernandez and Eric Bedard… elite stud closer in RHP JJ Putz and deep set-up unit…. homefield is a huge weapon, best pitchers park in AL… good team offense….Raul Ibanez among the most consistent bats in the game… excellent left side INF D…. and that Ichiro guy is ok

Bad-Top 2 Sps are young and volatile…injury issues? … Need Wilkerson and Sexson to hit HRs, team lacks power

2-Los Angeles-AL WILD CARD WINNER

Good-Excellent game manager.. good energy and athletes, NL type team….Vlad Guerrero among the most feared hitters in the game… elite closer in KRod…. Torii Hunter signing improves D(moves Gary Matthews Jr to LF) and allows them to rest vets Garrett Anderson and Vlad at DH….Deep bullpen with variety

Bad-Up and down defensive team….pitching injuries to 2 of the top 3(John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar) starters plus top set-up guy(Scott Shields) could kill this team… could use another elite bat…. GM and owner have not made a big move with trades, team has tons of prospects and has held them

3- Texas-

Good-Decent everyday lineup.- power, variety,speed— new CF Josh Hamilton is a stud…. deep catching… starting pitching and young closer(CJ Wilson) with upside

Bad-terrible ballpark for pitching development… need comeback years from Blalock,Michael Young and Milton Bradley

Tell me why….Team trades Mark Teixeira for Jarrod Saltalamacchia– who is now in the minors? I forgot Gerald Laird is going to Cooperstown!

4-Oakland-

Good-GM is among the best in the game…. Top 2 SPs in Blanton and Harden… young closer…. Young 1b prospect Daric Barton is a tremendous talent

Bad-Kids in the AL- not good!….. Eric Chavez’s back is hurt…. AGAIN… team is in full rebuild mode… tradeable assets in Joe Blanton, Rich Harden and Huston Street

AL Preview

Division standing predictions…..

AL East

1- Boston

Good-Excellent lineup that should be better with Pedroia and Ellsbury in year 2, Papi Ortiz healthy after offseason surgery plus ManRam and Varitek in contract/option years…. Best 8-9th inning combo in MLB in Okajima and Papelbon…. Underrated manager in Tito Francona…. very good clubhouse with winning atmosphere… bright GM in Theo Epstein who uses his scouts and the Red Sox nation dollars wisely… best big game pitcher in the world in Josh Beckett

Bad-Curt Schilling injury makes this team depend on 2 kids to pitch strong in the AL— a bad idea! As good as Lester and Buchholz appear to be, this is not a recipe for success. Any more injuries to the SP and this team is in trouble. Hard to see 3b Mike Lowell driving in 120 again, his standard 90 rbis would be fine.

Keep an eye on-RHP Manny Delcarmen.. local product reliever who has a tremendous arm and will be used more with Tito wanting to cut back Okajima’s work load and veteran RHP Mike Timlin’s role as well

Question: Why is Coco Crisp still on this team? Kid was a good teammate last season and sat for the Matinee idol — move him to a team and let him play!

2-NY Yankees

Good- Lineup will be the best in baseball— lots of noise about Detroit but these guys take pitches better and I like them at SS,3b,C—- plus they have some key players in walk years in Giambi and Abreau… HOF closer in Rivera…. good drafts and personel moves last 2-3 years… No more Joe Torre, team grew stale and complacent… Sox threw at them for 4 years, no retaliation! Billy Martin would have charged the mound HIMSELF!

Bad-3 kid pitchers in big spots— see my Red Sox note…… Any reliever not named Rivera.. check Latroy Hawkins track record in big spots…… 3 veteran SPs all have issues– Wang was horrid in the postseason, Moose Mussina is so washed up he has suds coming out his ears. Pettitte is already hurt and has had an active offseason with the Clemens mess. No Torre!!! He protected a lot of these guys and is gone. For all the Arod noise, check Jeter’s last couple of postseasons.

Keep an eye on:Joe Girardi- The Anti-Torre- clashed with ownership in Florida, combative and fiery, almost caused a riot vs Tampa this spring. Might cause several brawls and led the league in ejections.

3- Tampa Bay

Yes, This is not a typo….

Good-Very good young lineup with tremendous athleticism…. 3 excellent young SPs in Kazmir,Shields and Garza…. decent options at 4 & 5 in the rotation….greatly improved bullpen with vet RHP Troy Percival now closing and RHP Al Reyes setting up with RHP Dan Wheeler also here for a full season… gritty, tough manager in Joe Maddon

Bad-Young team in a veteran, cash heavy division. LHP Kazmir almost always has health issues… team sending super rookie 3b Evan Longoria, the talk of spring, down sends a bad message….. no LH in the pen, bad idea in a division with Papi Ortiz,Giambi,Abreau,Matsui,etc

Did U Know?- Team made one of the trades of the offseason….. dumping young headcase OF Delmon Young to the Twins and getting solid, young SS Jason Bartlett and promising RHP Matt Garza. In 1 move, they set the rotation and infield by trading from a position of strength. Excellent,underrated move.

4-Toronto

Good-0 Potentially the best rotation in the division if healthy….. Halladay and Burnett are incredible, young kids McGowan and Marcum took their lumps and are now vets….5th starter Litsch also had a sub 4.00 era…. very good and underrated bullpen even with the BJ Ryan injury comeback, closer Jeremy Accardo was excellent last season… OF Alexis Rios is an outstanding player… 2b Aaron Hill among the most underrated in the game

Bad-I don’t like this lineup at all…. added 2 beatup vets in 3b Scott Rolen and SS David Eckstein…..I don’t know if they can hit enough here to win this division… need a comeback season from stud CF Vernon Wells

5-Baltimore

Good-Camden Yards is a really nice place to watch a game….. Seriously folks, this team is BAD… we are talking historic bad…. 110 loss type team. Nick Markakis is a great young OF and they are looking at trading sparkplug 2b Brian Roberts for some kids. RHP Jeremy Guthrie is a solid, competitive SP who will keep u in games. New Os President Andy McPhail shares my opinion of this talent base(lack of talent!!!) and has added several major and minor league players via the Miguel Tejeda and Erik Bedard deals.

Bad-This team has to play 162 games. Pitching is both bad and young(see Daniel Cabrera) and they play 81 games in a launching pad of a park.

Keep an eye on…New closer LHP George Sherrill, acquired in the Bedard trade, he was blocked by the Mariners stud closer, JJ Putz. Sub 2.50 era, more than a K an inning, has talent and an arm.

Just for laughs…If you have the MLB Extra Innings package, put the Orioles on when they play the Red Sox or Yankees at home. The stadium will be 80% Sox and Yankees fans. Both cities airports run promos and deals to fly into Baltimore and these games are a home away from home for these crazed fan bases.

RHP Ian Snell vs LHP Tom Glavine tonight… I will post the lineups pregame….

Braves had that late night loss to the Nationals on a walkoff HR by 3b Ryan Zimmerman, so they should be in a good mood….

Game 2 pitchers- LHP Tom Gorzelanny vs RHP Jair Jurrjens

Game 3 LHP Zach Duke vs LHP Mike Hampton

RHP Josh Sharpless was outright released from the minors— was once thought highly of but showed up out of shape and will more than likely sign with another club

club signed INF Matt Kata annd RHP Jason Davis to minor league deals

Drafted 9th in a 12 team 5 category draft…

J Rollins

G Sizemore

J Beckett

B McCann

JJ Putz

K Rod

A Harang

D Uggla

A Gordon

S Victorino

J Loney

M Capps

R Ibanez

P Burrell

J Accardo

T Gorzelanny

G Meche

C Jackson

CJ Wilson

JD Drew

J Saltalamachia

Thoughts… I should clearly win sb and saves(5 closers), good avg and runs potential, solid SP as well— roster with trades to be made(5 closers, young stud C), felt I did very well picking 9th

and 2 Pirates!!!

Excellent article with a lot of information…..

Must read for Pirates fans!!!!

Great news to start the season, 2b Freddy Sanchez says he is good to go and man his position for the start of the season!

Team Roster to start the season….

Pitchers: 

Starters-

RHP Ian Snell

LHP Tom Gorzelanny

RHP Matt Morris

LHP Zack Duke

LHP Paul Maholm

Bullpen:

Closer RHP Matt Capps

RHP Phil Dumatrait

LHP John Grabow

LHP Damaso Marte

RHP Evan Meek

RHP Franquelis Osoria

RHP Tyler Yates

Catchers:

Ryan Doumit

Ronny Paulino

Infielders: 

Jose Bautista

Chris Gomez

Adam Laroche

Doug Mientkiewicz

Luis Rivas

Freddy Sanchez

Jack Wilson

Outfielders: 

Jason Bay

Nate McLouth

Nyjer Morgan

Xavier Nady

Season Opener in Atlanta Monday 7:10 PM— Tom Glavine takes the Mound for the Braves, Ian Snell, fresh off his new deal, totes the rubber for the Hometown team

POST SEASON AWARDS WINNERS

MVP