Alright, another week has gone by, and the Pirates improved! Relatively speaking, anyway. And I'm all about speaking relatively. Whereas they had gone 1-5 the week leading up to last Tuesday’s rant, they went 2-4 this week (including their first series win of the year and second 2-game win streak)! WOOHOO! This week, I can expect 3-3...then 4-2...then 5-1...then...oh wait, that’s not how that works. Let’s see...how else can I spin this...2-2 in their last four, baby! If they go .500 the rest of the year, they’ll finish with 74-75 wins. That’s much better than the overall 42-win pace they’re on if you multiply out their current record, so we’ll go with that.
There have actually been a few positive developments as of late...not many, but some worth mentioning...
- As Pat mentions, Jack Wilson has become 2006’s first (and likely only) example of money well-spent by the Pirates. When news of his contract extension came down, it looked like a wretched deal, but he’s hitting like he did in 2004 and fielding with reckless abandon as always (for better or worse), so good for him.
- It’s May now, and Jason Bay’s always better in May than April.
- Matt Capps, a 22-year old reliever who somehow made the team out of Spring Training (he was in AA-ball last year) and got torched his first few outings, has actually been quite strong his last few. He has a 96-97 mph heater, and he’s apparently a quick learner. That’s a good thing. It solidifies a bullpen that, last night aside, has actually been pretty decent recently. His ERA’s actually down to 3.77.
- Ronny Paulino, Ryan Doumit’s replacement behind the plate (Doumit’s still rehabbing in AAA), apparently calls an excellent game. Whereas the ERA of pitchers is 7.00+ when both Doumit and Humberto Cota start, it’s less than 4.00.
- In other words, the pitching as a whole has been quite satisfying recently.
However...
- The offense sucks. Horribly. Just terrible. Most runs scored in the last week: 3. Total runs for the week: 14. Last week: 17. And that’s sad, since Pirates pitchers only gave up 20. Nothing like wasting good pitching performances.
- The Oliver Perez of 2004 is pretty much gone for good. He has about three different hitches in his delivery, and he’s trying to blow people away with an 89-mph heater. Oh, and he has no control of his pitches either. He’s supposed to be the ace of the staff, and he’s 1-4 with a 7.53 ERA.
- In the first innings of the 27 games this year, Pittsburgh has been outscored 30-7. THIRTY TO SEVEN. As Bucco Blog suggests, maybe they should start each game with their closer?
- Did I mention the Pirates are now 1-13 on the road, including 0-6 in 1-run games? Gggggh.
Weekly “Craig Wilson and Freddy Sanchez versus Jeromy Burnitz and Joe Randa” Watch (a.k.a. the “Better, Younger, and Cheaper versus Older, Worse, and More Expensive” Watch):
- Craig Wilson: .282 BA, 7 HR, 18 RBI, .356 OBP, .654 SLG, 1.010 OPS. On Pace for 43 HR’s, 111 RBI’s (on a team that doesn’t believe in base-runners, no less). Price: $3,000,000.
- Freddy Sanchez: .327 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .340 OBP, .531 SLG, .871 OPS (in 49 AB’s). Price: $360,000.
- Jeromy Burnitz: .219 BA, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .257 OBP, .396 SLG, .653 OPS. Price: $6,700,000.
- Joe Randa: .221 BA, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .247 OBP, .312 SLG, .559 OPS (in 77 AB’s). Price: $4,000,000.
A few years ago, previous manager Lloyd McLendon earned the ire of Bucs fans by, when asked why Craig Wilson was sitting the bench while older players were doing much much worse and seeing the field everyday, suggesting that Craig Wilson was doing better because he wasn’t getting the playing time the others did. The good old, “Guys do better when they get less at-bats” theory. There’s one small bit of good logic to that (when you protect hitters and only bat them in favorable circumstances against certain pitchers, they’ll have better stats), but Craig was doing SO much better than anybody else that it still just didn’t make sense not playing him.
Well, Jim Tracy is to Freddy Sanchez what Lloyd was to Craig Wilson.
"Obviously, that's the hot topic these days," Tracy said. "I've done everything I possibly can to keep Freddy involved, and he has responded big-time. You have to get Freddy at-bats, but you also have to give those other guys a chance to jump-start themselves."
Tracy paused.
"And," he said, "you also have to consider that maybe Freddy is thriving the way he's thriving because of the niche he has."
But at least the organization is losing the faith of the young players:
Knowing the problems he had, Littlefield brought in some vets to try and get control. In Randa's case he paid him 3 times he value to not retire so Sanchez could sit on the pine, which the kiddies didn't like one bit.
In Burnitz's case, Littlefield signed a guy he didn't even need for PR reasons (ie: look at me, I am trying) and the kiddies know it and took exception to Littlefield making Craig a part-time player.
And in Casey's case, Sean is a three month rental player at best with us and I have every reason to believe is well liked in the kiddie part of the clubhouse. In fact, I think he even parties with them from what I have heard.
Bottom line is, they want Littlefield gone just as bad as the fans do. One 'insider' suggested to me that McClatchy gave Littlefield his contract extension as a showing to the kiddie group that DL isn't going anywhere despite how they play or act. And it is spreading from what I am hearing, all the way into the farm now.
Final notes...
As a V for Vendetta fan (the book, not the movie), I appreciate this.
And last but not least, all is not doom and gloom, as I’ve already ordered my 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates World Series Championship DVD set. That’s right, I have to go back 27 years to reminisce about the good ol’ days. I was 1 year old in 1979.
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