Tree of Life

08 Aug

The Bucs Stop Here; Losing Streak Knocks Pirates Out of Contention by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, August 8th, 2011 – 4:18 pm

It truly was a phenomenon in the city of Pittsburgh. Pirates gear being flashed with pride on every block in the area; T-shirts, hats, jerseys. The entire city was alive with "Bucco Fever" as they viewed the team as competitors and not just a lame segue to Steelers' training camp. Each game was watched with bated breath as the team battled for win after win in hopes of erasing eighteen years of embarrassment to all of sportsdom. As the wins piled up, the national attention became justified and the team continued to impress, landing in first place as late as July 25th. The NL Central Division, a title never won by the Pirates, was in reach as it appeared they would leave the .500 record in the dust.

And then it happened.

At the end of a nineteen inning marathon against the Atlanta Braves, Jerry Meals made one of the worst calls in MLB history and the Pirates never recovered. Just like they never recovered when Sid Bream slid into home as Barry Bonds' throw took four hops off the line to clinch the NLCS in 1992, the Pirates last winning season. Fast forward to July 26th, Julio Lugo slid into home seemingly tagged five feet before reaching the plate but was called safe by home plate umpire, Jerry Meals.

Since the call, the Pirates are 1-11 and many of their losses haven't been close. As I stated in my season preview back in March, this team will go only as far as their pitching will take them. The pitching took them to first place in the last week of July and now it has taken them four games under. In eleven games after the Jerry Meals fiasco, the team ERA is a staggering 6.92. During that time, the pitching staff has been selfless, allowing everyone a chance to blow an opportunity for a big out. Charlie Morton was pounded in a 10-3 loss against the Phillies on July 29th, Kevin Correia surrendered four of the six home runs off of Chicago in a 11-5 defeat on August 2nd, Jeff Karstens gave up a grand slam and allowed 9 runs over 3.1 innings against the putrid San Diego Padres, and Paul Maholm allowed 7 runs over 6 2/3 innings the following day. The only Pirates' starter who has been somewhat solid is James McDonald who help his own cause with a three run double after giving up five runs.

The bullpen blew multiple chances to end the streak and failed just as badly the rotation. After pitching seven scoreless innings, Charlie Morton was relieved for Chris Resop. The normally stingy Resop gave up a solo home run and the Cubs ended up winning 1-0. The following night, the Pirates took a 7-5 lead into the 8th inning. Hurdle elected to use Daniel McCutchen, who hadn't pitched in two days, instead of going to Jose Veras, the eighth inning specialist for most of the year. McCutchen loaded the bases, Jason Grilli gave up a run, Joe Beimel walked in the tying run, and Jose Veras allowed a sacrifice fly to give the Cubs the lead.

Now, ten games back and with the pitching regressing, the Pirates look to be out of the NL Central race for 2011. The goal should now focus on getting over the .500 mark and finishing the season on a high note. Clint Hurdle was brought in to give the franchise a jolt and prevent the old adage of "here we go again." Now, with a road series against the defending World Series champion Giants, the Pirates have their backs against the wall in trying to salvage what looked like an exciting season two weeks ago. A series win would revitalize the team and the fan base. Although it would be a major surprise to see a team playing so poorly, take two out of three against one of the National League's best teams, the Pirates have surprised people all year.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

06 Aug

A Conversation With Steelers LB Coach Keith Butler

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, August 6th, 2011 – 2:22 pm

Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler returns for his 9th season with the Black and Gold in 2011. He is thought by many to be the heir apparent to Defensive Coordinator Dick Lebeau should retirement call Lebeau any time this century. Butler has certainly displayed his loyalty to the franchise by turning down appealing job offers across the league to remain with the Steelers, and his input on the team's defense and their schemes are significant. I had a chance to chat privately with Butler at the lunch room at St. Vincent College in Latrobe on Saturday, and here's what he had to say on a number of subjects:

On the contracts his starting OLBs James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley have signed:

I've told them I'm glad for them, you know as a player in 1982 and 1987 that's what we struck for to make sure future guys can take care of their families probably a little bit better and I'm happy for LaMarr, he deserves it. I told them if they stay in my room long enough they're going to get paid. But that comes with responsibility, you know, there's the old saying 'to much is given, much is expected.' There's a lot expected in our room and expectations are high every year and they should be, we have good players. The linebackers mean a lot in terms of how our team plays every week. They understand that and they embrace it.

On the expectation that coaches across the NFL will be dramatically changing their playbooks this season:

They can't do that, I don't think you can do that. The thing that's going to be tough is if you're a new regime and you're trying to put in two systems, an offensive and a defensive system that's totally different from what they had last year. I think some people will try to meld systems, keep the terminology the same and just call the defense what they've been calling it so their players can better understand it. You've got to simplify things and try to run as much as you can in preseason to see where you're at. I'm glad we don't have that problem.

On whether the Steelers defense can and will add new things:

We're going to do what we do, I mean we're going to install our defenses based on the frequency that we ran them last year, that's what we've always done. We might look at a couple new things here or there but it's easier on us than it is on most people.

On the progress of OLB Jason Worilds, last year's 2nd round draft pick:

Jason still has got a lot to learn. He's learning the defense well, but he's got to learn to finish some things. He's got a god-given ability to burst to the ball, but he doesn't use it all the time and it's my job to get him to use it. A little bit of it is [understanding the defense] and some of it is just a sense of urgency. I've got to change that in him a little bit.

On the progress of ILB Stevenson Sylvester, a 5th round draft choice from 2010:

I think he can [help us] but he's still learning. He's got to figure out where his help is in the defense, and once he does that he'll be even better. He's a very smart young man but he's still got a lot to learn. He's probably ahead of where most second-year guys are mentally and learning how to run it. I'm throwing a lot at him, making him learn three different positions, but he has to be in position now to learn what he's supposed to be doing and using the guys and knowing where those guys are.

On whether Lawrence Timmons can play OLB in case of injuries:

Lawrence can, but I would rather not do that with him. I'd rather keep him at inside linebacker and let him get better and better at that. But there's no doubt that if we have to have another guy outside he can do that. Hopefully Jason [Worilds] takes that option off the table for us. If he doesn't, he doesn't, but that's what we're looking for from [Worilds] this year.

On if the Steelers are ready to play a preseason game in less than a week:

I don't know if anybody's ready for the first game if they ain't been doing anything for a long time, so we'll see. The Washington Redskins, they got no advantage on us, everybody's starting from the same level, so it shouldn't be a big deal. We want to see these young guys and we want to see those guys tackle because we're not tackling yet. We'll scrimmage a little bit at the goal line, but we're not going to tackle the whole time we're [at camp] so it makes a difference when everything's live and you're tackling.

On whether he can trust James Harrison to be honest regarding his back injury:

He's a grown man, he can tell me when he's hurt and when he's not. I've always told him, 'I don't know what you don't tell me.' So he's got to tell me and let me know if his back is bothering him. We want to make sure he's ready for the first game of the season not the first preseason game. He communicates with us. He's not a dumb man, although a lot of people might think he is by some of the things he says [laughs]. But he communicates with us.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

03 Aug

Steelers Looking to Avoid Pittsburgh Injury Bug by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 – 4:19 pm

It's no secret, the Pittsburgh Penguins were well on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals when the 2011 year began. On January 31st, 2010, the Penguins were tied with the Detroit Red Wings (53) in points to lead the NHL. The upgraded defense was tied for second in the league in goals allowed, despite a rocky start from Marc Andre Fleury, while also scoring 126 goals. In the center of everything, Sidney Crosby was leading the charge, on pace for 160+ point season with 60+ goals. Many had called Sidney Crosby's performance an assault on the league.

The Winter Classic changed everything. Crumpled into a ball on the ice, Sidney Crosby slowly pick himself up and walked into the locker room while thousands of fans watched and worried. The award winning HBO miniseries, 24/7 showed Crosby in the locker room, responsive but starry eyed and looking for answers as to what happened. Two days later, Crosby's head was rammed into the glass by 6'6 220 pound defenseman, Victor Hedman. The hit was the final blow to Crosby's season and possibly his career.

While Crosby tried to recover, the Penguins immediately started dropping like flies. Evgeni Malkin missed 40 games, tearing his ACL and MCL, Chris Kunitz missed 16 games with a lower leg injury, Dustin Jeffery was lost before the playoffs with a torn ACl, Orpik and Martin also missed time. While this was happening, Jordan Staal's season was just starting as he missed half the season with an infected foot and broken hand.

However, through all the injuries, the Penguins still managed to amass 106 points, tying with the Flyers for the division lead. Dan Bylsma went on to win the Jack Adams Trophy for coach of the year while Marc Andre Fleury did his best to push the Penguins through the playoffs. In the end, they fell one game short of reaching the semi finals. The 2010-2011 season was immensely disappointing due to the vast amount of injuries. It left all of hockey asking "what if?"

In their mission to erase the possibility of nineteen consecutive losing seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates are contending for the division but are fading fast. Their lack of offense has been especially frustrating for a starting rotation that has started to come down to earth. While the team is struggling to score runs, they are still contending despite their long list of injuries. Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, Alex Presley, Ronny Cedeno, Steve Pearce, Ross Ohlendorf, Evan Meek, Ryan Doumit and Joe Beimel have all missed significant time on the DL. Not only have the Pirates been losers for 18 straight seasons, they've had to deal with bad luck while trying to break their streak of futility. While most of the listed players should be back in a few weeks, the current team is heading into the most important stretch of the season and the players coming back from injury have had slow starts.

Since Pedro Alvarez's returned, he has hit .182 with 13 strikeouts in 38 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Steve Pearce is batting .095 with just two singles over 21 plate appearances. With players returning, the biggest factor will be adjusting to major league pitching and if the Pirates wish to make a playoff run, they must get back to form quickly.

With all of these injuries to Pittsburgh's finest athletes, can we expect the same for the Pittsburgh Steelers? Obviously, as fans, we hope nobody gets injured however, the Steelers play the most physically demanding sport in town. Compound that with the fact that their defense is made up of veteran players who are well into their thirties and we have a perfect storm of injury potential. As of today, Troy Polamalu is just starting to fully heal from his Achilles injury while Emmanuel Sanders is out 2-3 weeks with a broken ankle. Meanwhile, James Harrison continues to have problems with his back which was operated on earlier this summer. As the season moves along, more injuries are expected for the aging defense.

During the 2008-2009 season, when the Steelers won their sixth Super Bowl championship, Bryant McFadden was the only player to not start at least ten games from the first team defense. The starting defense in the Super Bowl was the same starting defense the Steelers had used all year. Last year, the Steelers had a season ending injury to Aaron Smith while Troy Polamalu battled with an Achilles injury. As mentioned before, Polamalu is still on the mend two weeks into training camp.

One thing that will help the Steelers is the minimizing of full contact practices during training camp and the season. Under the new CBA, teams will no longer be allowed to have back to back practices, or two-a-days, in full pads. While many Steelers fans may think it's unusual for the league's most physical defense (so physical there were rules instituted specifically because of them), to enjoy a day without knocking heads, the lack of physicality will keep them more rested for Sunday. Roger Goddell's best friend, James Harrison, was quoted as calling the new practice rules "lovely". If James is happy with the rules, then I am too. After all, if the impact players (Hampton, Woodley, Harrison, Polamalu, Timmons) can stay healthy, the Steelers could be in contention for their seventh ring, a championship that eluded them last year.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

02 Aug

Pirates Starting Pitching Regression by Jon Anderson

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 – 12:55 pm

The Pirates have hit a rough patch recently, losing 4 in a row and 8 of their last 11, and the offense has been taking all the blame. While you can't argue that the offensive production has been the Pirates biggest problem this year, the starting pitching hasn't exactly been great recently either. The staff was excellent the entire first half, but now we are seeing signs of regression. Let's take a close look (BAA = batting average against, SLGA = slugging percentage against, ZiPS = statistical predictor):

Kevin Correia:
Last Start (7/28): 6.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Last 3 Starts: 17.0 IP, 22 H, 5.82 ERA, .324 BAA, .516 SLGA, 3 HR, 5 BB, 9 K Last 5 Starts: 26.2 IP, 37 H, 6.08 ERA, .339 BAA, .514 SLGA, 4 HR, 7 BB, 17 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 4.74 ERA, .282 BAA

Paul Maholm:
Last Start (8/1): 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K Last 3 Starts: 19.0 IP, 25 H, 4.74 ERA, .342 BAA, .562 SLGA, 2 HR, 5 BB, 13 K Last 5 Starts: 31.2 IP, 38 H, 3.98 ERA, .319 BAA, .513 SLGA, 3 HR, 6 BB, 24 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 4.43 ERA, .279 BAA

James McDonald:
Last Start (7/30): 5.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Last 3 Starts: 16.2 IP, 22 H, 2.70 ERA, .310 BAA, .423 SLGA, 2 HR, 5 BB, 21 K Last 5 Starts: 28.2 IP, 34 H, 3.14 ERA, .293 BAA, .422 SLGA, 4 HR, 10 BB, 32 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 4.13 ERA, .254 BAA

Jeff Karstens:
Last Start (7/31): 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Last 3 Starts: 19.0 IP, 20 H, 3.32 ERA, .286 BAA, .357 SLGA, 1 HR, 6 BB, 9 K Last 5 Starts: 35.0 IP, 32 H, 2.06 ERA, .252 BAA, .323 SLGA, 2 HR, 6 BB, 14 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 5.14 ERA, .288 BAA

Charlie Morton:
Last Start (7/29): 4.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 4 K Last 3 Starts: 14.1 IP, 18 H, 5.65 ERA, .316 BAA, .509 SLGA, 2 HR, 11 BB, 10 K Last 5 Starts: 25.1 IP, 29 H, 4.97 ERA, .290 BAA, .470 SLGA, 3 HR, 14 BB, 17 K Rest of Season ZiPS: 4.83 ERA, .279 BAA

The staff as a whole has a 4.40 ERA in its last 15 starts, and a 3.90 ERA in its last 25 starts. Their recent struggles have been slightly overshadowed by the extreme lack of offense, but it should be noted that the are regressing back to where we expected them to be.

Even with the 4.40 ERA they've posted in the last 15 games, they are still out performing their expectations. Nobody expected this staff to be anything more than awful, and they've been really good all season long. Let's hope they can turn this bad stretch around and help this new offense start winning ballgames again.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates

 

01 Aug

Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick Analysis by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, August 1st, 2011 – 12:22 pm

By the conclusion of the trade deadline at 4 pm yesterday, the Pirates had acquired two players to help bolster an otherwise putrid lineup. No, not Hunter Pence and Carlos Beltran, but two veterans whose careers are coming to an end in the upcoming years. Nevertheless, the Pirates did do exactly what they said they were going to do: acquire players to help the team make a playoff push without giving away their future.

Unfortunately, running a franchise that hasn't won in eighteen years will create a large contingent of fans who will distrust their decisions, regardless of the fact that they've only been in office for three years, or the fact that they've been assistants to teams that have won the same way they are trying to win here. Many Pirates fans are still disappointed GM Neal Huntington did not acquire Hunter Pence (even if the Phillies gave up their top pithcing prospects among three other players) or Carlos Beltran (who refused to come here). Still, all will be forgotten if Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick come out swinging in black and gold.

The day before the trade deadline, the Pirates acquired first baseman Derrek Lee from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Aaron Baker. As long as he doesn't break down, the Derrek Lee trade is already an excellent one for one simple reason. It most assuredly kicks Lyle Overbay to the curb after over half a season of Jeromy Burnitz-type production. Although everyone is looking at Lee's offense as a source of contribution, Lee's defense alone could help the Pirates down the stretch. In his career, Lee was given the Gold Glove award three times and his 6'5 frame will give the infielders a little more room to make inaccurate throws to first.

As for the offense, Lee is known as a second half player and unlike Overbay who carried the same trend but failed to perform, Lee is starting to heat up hitting, .298 3 home runs and .906 OPS since the All Star Break. He may not finish the year with 46 home runs as he did in 2005, but he will certainly provide the lineup with offense at a position that has lacked help all year. Turning 36 in September and a free agent after this season, Lee will most likely go back to the free agency pool if he decides not to retire.

As for the piece to get Lee, Aaron Baker was a first baseman playing for the West Virginia Power. With 15 home runs, giving up Baker for a rental seems questionable. With the emergence of Matt Hague, Matt Curry and Alex Dickerson however, Baker was situated so far behind those aforementioned players, that he would never have a chance to get to Pittsburgh.

Ryan Ludwick heard his name going to about five different teams over the course of the week but within the final hour of the deadline, he was a Pittsburgh Pirate. Ludwick was not the first choice by the Pirates but since the Minnesota Twins are stuck in their hard-headed beliefs that they will win the AL Central this year and decided not to trade Michael Cuddyer or Jason Kubel, the Bucs were forced to look elsewhere. The Pirates dealt a PTBNL and took Ludwick to help a beat up outfield that has lost Jose Tabata and Alex Presley for at least a few more weeks. Ludwick, an ex-Cardinal, is struggling for his second straight season hitting .238 with only 11 home runs. The hope is that he will return to form when he stops hitting at Petco Park and if he does, the Pirates could have a serious shot to make a run. My guess is that he will hit a little better at PNC but not enough to make a huge impact. When Tabata and Presley come back I would assume Ludwick will platoon in right field with Presley as a right handed hitter.

Whether or not you agree with the moves, you have to agree GM Neal Huntington made an effort to bolster the lineup. Many may think the front office was too lazy to make a deal earlier in the week but the facts point to a strong sellers market. Don't believe me? Look at all of the deals for better players and ask if the return helped the buyer or seller more. The Indians gave up two future front line starters for Ubaldo Jimenez, a pitcher who may be hurt and has struggled since the 2010 All Star Break. The Giants gave up their top pitching prospect, Zack Wheeler, for Carlos Beltran which seems like an even trade until you look at the Giants' rotation and notice three potential Cy Young winners already playing for San Fransisco. As I said in a previous post, the biggest expense for the Pirates is their top prospects. With a noticeable distance in talent between the Pirates and the Phillies, as displayed this weekend, the front office knew they had to be smart because their time to win a World Series is not now.

A National League Central Division title? We'll see.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates

 

31 Jul

Steelers Training Camp Notes: Day 4

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers, Sports Talk Radio on Sunday, July 31st, 2011 – 7:38 pm

Sunday July 31st was the first day of practice in pads at St. Vincent College in Latrobe for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Head Coach Mike Tomlin made it a long one, saying afterwards "well you know tomorrow is an off day, nothing wrong with getting a little work in."

For the Steelers who were healthy enough or allowed to take part (per CBA rules) in the two-and-a-half hour affair, they did indeed get some work in. And a few guys made good first impressions, with 7th round draft pick RB Baron Batch stealing the show in that capacity.

Batch was a featured blocker in pass protection in a drill termed 'Backs on 'Backers,' where pass rushing linebackers get a 5-yard running head start as they come towards a dummy QB, needing to pass through a backfield RB or TE. On three straight reps against 2nd year LB Jason Worilds, Batch got the better of the action and absorbed the collisions in a way that had onlooking teammates and coaches highly enthused. At one point Tomlin said, "Take that with you Jason," followed by an "I like that Batch."

Batch did so well that Tomlin had him go head to head with former NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison and again Batch took the lick and kept the QB clean. Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians ran onto the field of play and put his arm around Batch as they came off. Afterwards an elated Batch said, "It's definitely surreal. I've been watching [Harrison] play since I was in high school. I was just trying to remember my technique and do the best I could."

Tomlin, never one to praise young guys too much too soon, evaluated Baron Batch's day with a simple "He's a rookie." In all Tomlin said during the drill, "Some licks were passed, but in some instances we weren't violent enough." The head coach seemed in particular to feel his team's linebackers didn't deliver enough in the collision department, with a number of defensive players electing to use guile and slip-moves.

Other observations from Day 4 of camp:

QB Ben Roethlisberger wore Max Starks' jersey #78. Ben said "we were the last two of our draft class, and Max's locker was next to mine for seven, eight years now. So I saw it and grabbed it in honor of Max. [The jersey's] a little big. I'm not going to hold out the possibility that he might not come back, who knows."

Sitting out practice (in addition to the new free agent signees) were T Marcus Gilbert (hamstring), Keenan Lewis (heat-related), Emmanuel Sanders (foot), Limas Sweed (hamstring), and Crezdon Butler left practice after quad tightness. None of the injuries seem terribly serious at this point. Sweed looked fine running on a side field before practice.

Antonio Brown looks to be the team's no-brainer kick returner at this point, with four rookies taking reps beside him: Curtis Brown, Terrence McCrae, Armand Robinson, and Adam Mims.

The Steelers staring offensive line left to right was: Kyle Jolly, Keith Williams, Maurkice Pouncey, Ramon Foster, and Chris Scott. LG Chris Kemoeatu remains out with a knee injury, while current starting tackles Jonathan Scott and Willie Colon can't practice until Thursday. Doug Legursky is also out until then, at which point he will compete with Foster for the starting spot.

In the team's first hurry-up drill in pads of the year, the first team offense was given new life by Tomlin after Antonio Brown dropped a 4th-down pass in the slot. With the added downs, the team did produce a TD against first team defenders. On the drive, WR Tyler Grisham had a 14-yard catch to the 2-yard line followed by a lob pass to Heath Miller in the endzone. Arnaz Battle also contributed with catches in the sequence.

Undrafted TE Weslye Saunders looks good. He did have one drop in team drills, but bounced back with a 30-yard sideline catch from Byron Leftwich later in the afternoon. Saunders is a 6'5, 270lb South Carolina grad and looked extremely solid in pass protection in the 'Backers drill. By unofficial count, he went 4-1 on his chances with only Lawrence Timmons giving him major problems. With the departure of Matt Spaeth, Saunders could well make the roster with a good camp.

The day's free agent news included CB William Gay and RB Mewelde Moore re-signing with the Steelers, while WR Plaxico Burress decided to head back to New York with the Jets. The Gay signing is likely bad news for CB Crezdon Butler in terms of nickel-back play and will make it tough for Butler to make a roster if everyone stays healthy (given the addition of two rookie CBs). Chatting with a number of players at the cafeteria, nobody seemed too concerned that Burress had chosen Rex Ryan over the Steelers.

Tune in tomorrow starting at 9am at sportstalk.triblive.com to hear all of my Steelers interviews from the day, and to catch the debut of my co-host Guy Junker from 10am-Noon.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers, Sports Talk Radio

 

31 Jul

GUY JUNKER STARTS HOSTING MONDAY!

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, July 31st, 2011 – 6:55 pm

Guy Junker starts his regular hosting duties Monday morning at 10am. He will co-host with Ken Laird every weekday 10am-12:30 and John Steigerwald joins them at noon. Ken Laird has been covering Steelers Training Camp all weekend and will have interviews with Steelers players starting at 9am Monday morning. Dejan Kovacevic joins Guy and Ken at 11am to talk Pirates. Tuesday-Laird, Junker, Steigerwald and Steelers Beat Writer Scott Brown will be broadcasting live from St. Vincent College in Latrobe 9a-2p at Steelers Training Camp.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

29 Jul

Root, Root, Root for the A's? by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, July 29th, 2011 – 12:35 pm

After splitting a four game road series against the Atlanta Braves, arguably the third best team in the NL, the Pirates find themselves 1.5 games back from the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central lead. As good as the pitching was to hold down the Braves' offense, the bats for the Pirates were equally as putrid. At one point, the Pirates had scored only two runs in a span of 27 innings off the Braves; hardly the offense of a contender. Still, after a win last night, they head into Philadelphia with a chance to come out of this road trip with their heads above playoff water.

During the games this weekend, there will be plenty of scoreboard watching and plenty of trade rumors floating around. As the Pirates continue to shop for bats and scoreboard watch, there should be a rooting interest for the Oakland Athletics. No, not because the motion picture Moneyball is being released this fall, chronicling the 2001 Athletics who made a playoff run using sabermetrics. But because the A's play the Minnesota Twins and the Twins still believe they are in the hunt to win the AL Central.

Why does that matter?

The Twins currently have two tradable players who are excellent hitters: Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer. While it has been rumored that Cuddyer will not be traded at the deadline, the Pirates have been reported as a team showing strong interest for Jason Kubel. At age 29, Kubel is having another solid season, hitting .314/.365/.471 with an OPS of .836. With the uncertainty of Tabata's return and Presley's broken hand, Kubel would help a banged up outfield and upgrade the offense. The only problem is, the Twins are unwilling to part with their players due to their belief that they could win the division. Series wins from Detroit, Cleveland and Oakland could push the Twins back to roughly eight games out of the AL Central which may force their hand in dealing away players or, at the very least, lower the asking price.

Although the struggles continue to be at first base with Lyle Overbay, the Pirates lineup would get a boost from a guy like Kubel who has had 90+ RBI's the last two seasons. Carlos Pena looked to be the perfect rental but his current slump (1-19 11 k's), coupled with the Chicago Cubs refusing to deal him in hopes he will re-sign in the offseason, seems to have turned the Pirates off from the possibility of seeing the slugging first baseman in black and gold. Since Pena would be a rental, I'm not sure why the Cubs couldn't just take the Pirates' money and use it to sign Pena once the season is over. Then again, I never understand anything the Cubs do when it comes to running a franchise. I digress. With the astronomical asking prices to acquire Pence, Quentin or Upton, and lack of impact by Willingham, Kubel or Cuddyer appear to be the best fits.

So say it with me, "Let's go A's." Sure, you can root for the Astros to beat the Brewers (please Houston. One game?), or the Cubs and their useless $125 million payroll to beat the Cardinals. But those series aren't as important as you may think. The Pirates still have ten games remaining against both the Cardinals and Brewers and with the offense continuing to struggle, the Bucs are going to need all the help they can get to score runs. Jason Kubel can help. But first, we need the Twins to fall faster than Lyle Overbay's chances of playing after July 31st. If not, the Pirates will have to go back to the drawing board to find a suitable deal for a bat.

Let's go A's

Probables

Friday: A's Gonzalez (9-7 2.67 ERA) vs. Twins Liriano (6-8 4.82 ERA)
Saturday: A's Moscoso (3-5 3.47 ERA) vs. Blackburn (7-7 4.21ERA)
Sunday: A's McCarthy (3-5 3.52 ERA) vs. Pavano (6-7 4.60 ERA

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates

 



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