Cubs Take the Series Opener 6-3 as Bucs Bats Wake Up Too Late

The Pittsburgh Pirates embarked on their second road trip of the season tonight, this time the friendly confines of Wrigley Field in Chicago to square off against the Cubs.

Yu Darvish vs Trevor Williams. If this was the whole story there isn’t much to it. Darvish looked like the ace Chicago hoped they were getting when they signed him to a lucrative extension last season even hitting 98 on the gun on more than a couple occasions which has never been part of his game. Yu hangs around the 95-96 mark so the extra speed added to the confusion Pirates batters brought with them from PNC. Darvish would finish with 6 innings of 2 hit ball. He also walked Adam Frazier on the first at bat of the game but caught him leaning for Adam’s second pick off at first in the young campaign.

Williams did what he seems to do more often than not, held his own and worked the edges to fight through 4.2 innings. Giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, he also committed an error. As is course with Williams, his pitch count was absolutely out of hand by the 4th inning as he was well beyond 90 by the time he was replaced.

Now, I’m going to suggest something here and I know full well they won’t do it, at least not this season, but Trevor Williams isn’t a starter. He just isn’t. What he can do is fine, its actually a skill set the club badly needs. He’s a long reliever and I think he’d probably be a pretty good one. See I can’t even say he’s doing the wrong thing nitpicking the corners, its what his stuff demands, but that is never going to allow him to get past the 5th, and if he runs into a patient team, which the Cubs are not, he’ will struggle to hit that mark.

Again, I shouldn’t have to say this, but I’m not hating on the guy, but the world needs ditch diggers too and his lot in life is not starting. We’ve seen enough evidence now. If evaluation is really the goal, why not give Brubaker these starts? He has been a starter his entire career and he has upside Williams can’t dream of at this stage. Williams could be a very effective long to middle relief arm and could probably even add some velo if he wasn’t trying futility to stretch himself out.

I’m sure for this season, they’ll just leave him in the rotation, he has experience and I suppose that has it’s merit, but it’s hard to understand how Kuhl who cruised through four innings needs to be part of a piggyback while Williams looks like he’s reenacting scenes from 300 for 4 doesn’t. Add it to the list of questions I’m sure people would love to ask the skipper if only they had more than a Zoom call with no follow up questions.

Anyway,

In the top of the eighth Gregory Polanco showed signs of life, hammering a double to the wall to lead off. The Pirates threatened to strand him there but Dyson came through with a single to get the Bucs on the board.

So we head to the bottom of the 8th and I should mention at this point the Pirates had already survived Del Pozo pitching part of the 7th. To reward his team that finally started looking interested in hitting, Shelton left Del Pozo in to start this inning. Well a single and a walk later and Derek Shelton called on Neverauskus, because why not right? Yup, base hit to load the bases. base hit to score two more, 6-1.

Still nobody out mind you, but Neverauskus got Baez to ground out and walked the next batter, finally getting a double play to end the frame.

OK, every player in that room would tell you they have Del Pozo’s back. They’d all tell you the coach trusts us to do our jobs, or if you’re in the show you are capable of doing whatever. You can’t tell me honestly as a player on this club, after scoring your first run in almost two full games and clawing back within three, that it isn’t disappointing to see this manager stick with someone he was lucky to escape an inning with already. At that to turn to Neverauskus.

If you’re group of pitchers looks like Williams, Turley, Hartlieb, Del Pozo, and Neverauskus chances are your record looks like a Facebook fan prediction.

In the 9th the Cubs turned to Craig Kimbrel who is all name and no substance at this point. He gave up a solo bomb to Josh Bell and Colin Moran went back to back opposite field. Too little too late but that Cubbies bullpen isn’t a whole lot better than the Bucs. Perhaps something to build on at best.

The Clubs Meet again tomorrow night at 8:15 EST and should air on ATT Sportsnet

News & Notes:

  • Bryan Reynolds continued to misfire tonight and it’s becoming more worrisome by the day. I don’t think he’s a bust or going to bomb out this year because of some sophomore voodoo but he does not look like himself at this point. Pitchers are victimizing him up and in with heat and we saw some of this toward the end of last season. He lacks so far the patience he showed to let that pitch go more often than not as he did in 2019. It’s an issue, because in trying to gear up to catch it he’s off time on the off speed. He’ll get it, but maybe needs a night to reflect if you will.
  • Colin Moran is not a fluke. He’s being patient and taking walks when pitchers are working around him. He’s punishing mistakes, and he’s doing it against pitchers from both sides of the plate. I got news for you, Moran isn’t a bust. He’ll never make that Cole trade feel good, but in isolation, this is a guy who is really becoming a good ball player. If you believe in Hayes, he is going to help the Pirates one way or another by hitting this way.
  • I wanted to focus on how the two rookie managers handled their rosters this weekend and this game was the first opportunity. We saw Ross make pretty pedestrian changes in this ballgame, but with a lead most of the game and a starter throwing darts, there wasn’t much to manage. Shelton was again in my opinion a bit slow changing pitchers, I always feel he is a batter or two late, and seems to love leaving them in spanning inning breaks. this is an American League thing, you see that much more in that league because pinch hitting isn’t a factor, NL pitchers and players are more accustomed to clean innings. Doesn’t mean he’s wrong, just an observation. Let’s keep our eyes on this.
  • Josh Bell made solid contact a couple times in this game one leaving the yard in the 9th, but overall a step forward for him tonight. If you want a positive to hang your hat on not named Colin Moran, Bell is your guy. He looked much more comfortable all night even while Darvish was dealing.
  • Cole Tucker handled Right Field capably and popped a single to center. Good to see him taking better at bats and swings but he still gets fooled far too regularly. He’s young, totally get it, but if he is taking at bats from Osuna before the season is lost, I have a problem.
  • Speaking of Osuna, three straight games he hasn’t seen the field. When he’s been in the lineup he has hit, certainly not something everyone can say. If its about splits, he actually hit better against right handers last season. Of all the Sheltyness we’ve seen from Shelton this is the most flabbergasting. If this season isn’t about finding out what you have in guys you need to decide on, what is it about?

Series Preview – Pirates (2-4) at Cubs (4-2)

Chicago probably doesn’t have the most talent in the NL Central anymore, but they certainly still have the most battle tested unit. They come into this series fresh off a rain shortened trip to Cincinnati in which they took 2 of 3 but they certainly didn’t run away with the series.

The Reds put 24 runs on the Cubbies in this series while the North Siders plated 23 of their own. Needless to say, the Cubs and Reds pitching was less than stellar.

Now, before you go getting too excited, the Pirates have yet to show they can consistently take advantage of that fact, although sometimes the windy confines of Wrigley are necessary medicine for a club not firing on even half their cylindars at the plate.

The Cubbies continue to add to their club internally and the latest new face is Nico Hoerner, a SS by trade he has already played SS, 2B, LF, and RF for the Cubs and all he’s done is collect seven hits in 18 at bats. If he keeps this pace up and Kris Bryant continues to struggle form the leadoff spot, he’ll make a push to get a shot there himself.

Game one tonight will feature Williams vs Darvish, game two Keller vs Chatwood and game 3 (Brault or Kuhl -TBA) vs Lester. Honestly, pretty even matchups based on what we’ve seen thus far in 2020. The difference could very well be run support, and that is where the Cubs have a tremendous advantage.

If the Bucs are to keep this season on the tracks, and I’m not even talking about a playoff berth, their best hitters need to start looking like it. The combination of Newman, Reynolds, Bell, Polanco, and Frazier can’t continue to hit under the Mendoza line.

Derek Shelton is only managing his third series of course but so is David Ross. Each being former catchers (some more recent than others) there are quite a few similarities there and while you can’t stack them side by side based on team stats you will certainly get a picture that all rookies are not created equal.

Shelton has been loathed to use his bench and the Pirates only have 2 official pinch hits so far this year. David Ross is already more free wheeling shuffling guys in and out with regularity and to great effect.

Another big difference is Ross seems to value the consistency of his starting backstop Contreras who has anchored the club starting 5 of the team’s 6 contests. The American league background of Shelton comes to mind when typical National league fans recognize situations that arise in-game. Watch for those tonight and all weekend for that matter. Watch the way Ross is quick to get matchups at the plate vs how Shelton handles the same. I’m really starting to believe there is something to this background.

The Cubs are probably on the cusp of at least a newsworthy change to their roster following this season, but the way they continue to restock with fresh talent is impressive. Pitching remains a position they’ve spent money to fill as the Lester’s and Darvish’s of the world travel the downside of their journey, the Cubs will turn to Chatwood to lead the rotation. This season that transition begins in earnest.

Yinzer Reactions: Recapping The Pirates Series With The Brew Crew

In first installment of Yinzer Reactions I talked about the overreactions of Pirates’ Fans both positive and negative, which change from day to day and even moment to moment within a game, almost like riding a wave. This series versus the Milwaukee Brewers was no different; from the collapse of the bullpen in the 9th on Monday to the breakdown and comeback in the second game and finally the silencing of the Pirates bats in the finale. Add in everything that happened in between and it becomes clear that there is no shortage of positive and negative takeaways for this Yinzer to discuss from Pittsburgh’s second series of the season.

Positive Takeaways

1) Chad Kuhn’s first appearance in a regular season game since 2018 met the high expectations that many of us had set for him. This was the first time that Kuhl has stepped on the mound in a regular season game since June 26, 2018 versus the Mets and it looked like he hadn’t skipped a beat; actually it appeared as if he had even improved. He threw 3.2 innings of scoreless ball, while striking out 4. Of course he did walk 2 and allow 3 hits, but it never seemed like he wasn’t in control.

2) Derek Holland’s first start in a Pirates uniform went very well and could provide a veteran presence to hold the rotation together. We all are aware of the good vibes and passion that Holland brings to the clubhouse, but I was not sure this would transfer over to the playing field after a few years in a row of average to below average work as a starter and out of the bullpen. If it wasn’t for one pitch to a Keston Hiura his line would have looked even better, however, all in all it was a solid start for the Dutch Oven. In 5 2/3 innings he allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and struck out 5. He did give up 3 free passes, was charged with a wild pitch and hit a batter.

3) Richard Rodriguez pitched two spotless innings in the series.

After giving up a two run home run in his first appearance of the season in the opener against the Cardinals, Rich Rod made two appearances in the Brewers series; striking out 3 batters, walking none and not allowing a hit in 2.0 innings. This is obviously a small sample size, but it was nice to seem him bounce back from a less than optimal start to the year.

4) Burdi continues to impress as the team’s closer in Kela’s absence.

Although it may be the case that Burdi may not be available as often as we would all like to coming back from an injury and surgery, when he has pitched it has been extremely fun to watch. On Tuesday night he recorded his first major league save with a walk and a strike out followed by a double play. In his first two outings of the season he has made quick work of the opposing batters; striking out 4 and walking 1 on only 26 pitches.

5) Bryan Reynolds’s arm is for real. He now has a total of 3 outfield assists on the season, including one inning in each of the last two games against Milwaukee and all of them at home plate.

Negative Takeaways

1) Josh Bell continues his slow start to the season. In the series Bell was 2 for 13 with 4 strikeouts. After 6 games he is batting .174 and has yet to collect an extra base hit.

2) Joe Musgrove gives up two more home runs in his second start of the season. Big Joe has 15 strike outs through the first 11.1 innings, so things have not been all bad. However, when he is not striking out batters he is giving up home runs, 2 in each game so far.

3) The Pirates Bullpen remains inconsistent. From Feliz to Crick on Monday night to Stratton and Del Pozo on Tuesday it is clear that that the bullpen has continued to be a crap shoot. Even in earning his first big league win, Geoff Hartlieb was bailed out by two outfield assist from Reynolds and Heredia.

4) The three options that Pittsburgh have tried out for in the leadoff position have mostly struggled. I am not going to take the eventual game winning two-run homer run from Adam Frazier, but outside of that there has been no dependability in the leadoff spot for the Pirates. Frazier has a .125 AVG and a .192 OBP, Kevin Newman has a .063 AVG and a .167 OBP and Jarrod Dyson isn’t any better with a .071 AVG and and a .071 OBP. One of these guys has to be better or Derek Shelton maybe looking to Phillip Evans to step in and see what he can do.

5) The Pirates managed just one “hit” in the final game versus the Brewers and struck out a combined 14 times. If it wasn’t for a single by Phillip Evans to the Brewers catcher the Pirates would have been no-hit in the sixth game of the season. Not taking anything away from Brandon Woodruff and the rest of the Brewers pitchers, the effort by the Pirates batters in that can’t be described as anything but lethargic.

Now I know I missed some positives, such as the two hit games from Reynolds and Cole Tucker of the two home run game from Colin Moran; as well as some clear negatives, but you can’t cover it all. So let me know what you think of the lists I compiled, what I missed and look for another Yinzer Reactions following the Pirates weekend series with the Cubs.

Throwing at Batters Will Never Stop in Baseball

By in large the masses seem to support Joe Kelly for throwing at Houston Astros players, some going so far as to lift him up as a hero. Others have decided to pretend it is simple assault.

Silly. In a word its just a childish take that quite honestly only someone who doesn’t understand the game could have. Why? Well let’s talk about it.

First, do pitchers throw at batters on purpose? Absolutely. Can you prove intent? Hardly.

Think about Monday’s game against the Brewers, Kyle Crick threw a ‘slider’ inside to Ryan Braun that started too far inside and didn’t break as intended. He had an open base and a lesser batter in the on-deck circle, maybe hitting him would have been a better outcome than what Braun ended up doing. Ryan looked like Daredevil avoiding it, and at this point in his career you can’t trust him to accurately hit anything. So, it’s pretty easy to say that was an unintentional throw at a player. There also isn’t any history between those two, while Crick might have a reputation as a hot head here in the Burgh, he doesn’t have that stigma league wide.

Joe Kelly has had control issues for years, and I personally believe he was throwing at the Astros players, but proving this guy who couldn’t hit the strike zone the entire outing suddenly harnessed the command to aim at someone’s dome is impossible to prove. That’s exactly why he’ll appeal and most likely win. 8 games is excessive and I see no way it stands.

Just like you can’t prove that his pick-off attempts were designed to hit the player trying to slide back in to first. They probably were if I’m honest, but they’re also proper technique. You want the ball as close to where the tag would be as you can get, but some pitchers have learned it’s a way to bean a player without the penalties that typically accompany it.

I’m not into it personally, I’d rather pitchers not throw at batters but it’s part of the game. There are batters who will and would take liberties if the game tried to legislate it out. You have to pitch inside to prevent batters from lunging over the plate or worse setting up over the plate. As a pitcher you can’t sacrifice half the strike zone because you might hit a batter, and you can’t render yourself ineffective in order to avoid it.

If you pitch up and in, you’re going to hit batters. I happen to think that’s part of the game, and an important one. If that happens to be in the head, good luck proving it was purposeful, have you seen Richard Rodriguez try to throw a high fastball where the catcher has to jump out of his crouch to catch it? If he’s aiming for the up and in quadrant of the strike zone or for that matter off the plate inside, guess what’s going to happen on occasion.

Now toss in a visible beef. Say Rodriguez is actively arguing with say Harrison Bader. He throws inside and Bader does his usual act of literally not moving a muscle to avoid being hit. Boom. Should he be suspended or are you basing intent on your perceived idea that they had beef so of course he did it on purpose?

I’m not saying bean balls don’t happen, nor am I saying none of them are pretty clear. But all the factors I just mentioned pale in comparison to one over arching truth; the players by in large support it.

I guess we caring individuals in the fan base should save them from themselves, right? We should cry from the mountain tops that this ‘violence’ must stop and get these players to understand the threat.

Do you honestly think by the time players reach the Majors they have no idea this is a thing? Look at the mess NFL officiating has become trying to legislate headshots out of the game, we’re to the point where a linebacker can get pushed and fall backward into a QB grazing his helmet and be penalized 15 yards.

That wasn’t the intent of the new rules, but when you start trying to decipher the intent of every play by every player you quickly realize you can’t do it. So, you institute something much closer to zero tolerance.

If baseball ever did this, pitching might as well just be a pitching machine, because the entire inner third of the plate would be damn near off limits. It would be an unintended consequence for an altruistic idea, man if that doesn’t sum up a whole bunch of stupid stuff, we’re dealing with in the world I don’t know what does.

I’m not going to celebrate Joe Kelly as some kind of hero, he isn’t. He’s a mediocre pitcher who the Dodgers don’t really feel they’ll miss so he executed taking ten pounds of flesh. At least that’s my take on it, thank god I don’t have to prove it.

Bucs Fall 3-0 in Series Finale to the Brewers in Example of What the Modern Game Has Become

Sure, things happened in this game. Joe pitched fairly well but gave up two homeruns and three runs. Woodruff was brilliant and the Bucs had no answers for anything he tossed up there, especially his changeup which mystified seemingly every batter in the lineup.

The biggest theme in this game though, this is the largely what the game has become and man it was painful to watch. By the 6th innings both teams combined for 15 strikeouts, two homeruns and 4 total hits. The Pirates didn’t have a ball hit to the outfield until the fifth.

Again, Woodruff was great, the game however when the three true outcomes are on full display is a fast moving, yet somehow tedious at the same time chore to watch.

I’d say this if the score was reversed too, but tonight it just struck me that I watched an entire baseball game and all told, there really wasn’t much to report. If there isn’t much to report, I’d imagine there aren’t too many people out there pumped up.

Baseball is starting to look like we thought it would, it’s all or nothing and when the game goes that way the Bucs are ill equipped to thrive. They lack the power tool so many teams focus on yet refuse to take free bases offered by extreme shifts and continue instead to try to join the big boys who can compete in that arena.

If you want a bright spot it might be the bullpen, Neverauskus came in for Joe and stranded his inherited runner. Robbie Erlin pitched two scoreless and even overcame Colin Moran dropping a pop up giving the Brewers an extra out. Richard Rodriguez pitched the ninth and set the Brewers down with ease.

The offense was simply inept and the awful start for the Pirates supposed best hitters continued, Jason Mackey summed it up in the 6th with this Tweet.

Needless to say, it got worse as the game finished up and inexplicably the Brewers used their closer Josh Hader for the second time in three games, they must not care about his rest.

News & Notes:

  • The Pirates who were expected to be the anchors of the lineup simply haven’t been. Sure, 6 games in is early to decide the outcome of their seasons but with 10% of the schedule complete it’s hard to ignore.
  • Christian Yelich went 0-5 tonight, which makes him 0 for the entire series, in fact he only has one hit so far. The offensive struggles to major run producers with pedigree is one of the strangest phenomena of this young season
  • It’s the most Pirate thing ever that they finally get a solid performance from the pen and couldn’t score a single run. 1 hit of support won’t cut it, well, ever.
  • In the ninth, Erik Gonzalez struck out AND got hit by the pitch, that’s a special kind of stink, apropos for the evening

Expect the Unexpected with Pirates Lineups

In baseball every fan no matter how involved, from the casual observer to the most ravenous fan, one thing binds us all, lineup opinions. Everyone has their perfect vision of an ideal flow, the players involved and any variations beyond that for specific situations.

Derek Shelton so far doesn’t agree. Sure, he’s probably hit on your perceived best set up once this season but a ‘trot ‘em out there every day’ style lineup isn’t his intension.

Five games in and we’ve not had the same lineup twice. There are reasons, no doubt, so let’s go through what Derek has said and discuss some of the other factors that have helped perpetuate the lack of consistency.

Factor 1 – Availability
Obvious right? Players are either there or they aren’t, makes sense. COVID has tossed an extra wrench in the works because the dugout isn’t the same catch all it used to be as players are spread out into the actual seats as well. If a player isn’t in the lineup, unless otherwise stated and you don’t see them the mind starts to race.

Factor 2 – Pre-Scripted
One of the more enlightening answers from Derek Shelton about his lineup construction was the revelation he and Don Kelly had sketched out not only rest days for players but went so far as to pre-script weeks out some of the lineups. Obviously, these would have to change based on unforeseen circumstances such as Polanco not being available to start the season but at least according to this there would be no consideration for ‘this guy is on fire’. Does that do enough to explain why no Osuna in a few so far?

Factor 3 – The Locks
There appear to be a few locks in the lineup, at least so far as we’ve seen. These are players that apparently don’t require the rest being pushed for lesser lights. Reynolds, Bell, and Frazier seem to be the only players who the Pirates plan to use on the daily. Newman and Moran are close but have found themselves out of the lineup once each. Out of those players Bell and Moran are the only players who have changed positions, 3 in Moran’s case.

Factor 4 – Evaluation
Phillip Evans and Cole Tucker probably fill this role the best. The Pirates are at the very least intrigued by Evans’ bat and rightfully so, he has showed himself capable of making an impact and plays a decent third base from what we’ve seen. Tucker had a couple hits last night but up until then he looked out of sorts. They’ve decided he’s going to get at bats playing in the outfield and that’s fine, but it has come at the expense of at bats for Osuna. This bleeds into factor 3 a bit, because Newman is ‘in the club’ if you will it means he won’t sit much (I bet this changes if he doesn’t turn it around at the plate) so there aren’t many at bats to be had at SS for Tucker. When Newman does sit, they want to use it as an opportunity to get Gonzalez in there.

Factor 5 – Traditional Matchups
This is the last one and oddly its more a factor Shelton seems to not regard highly. The Pirates have a ton of switch hitters relatively speaking and they also have enough players to never see Jarrod Dyson start against a lefty or Heredia start against a righty. We just saw this last night, right-handed starter with Tucker and Heredia in right and center respectively. This is just weird, Dyson for years has not hit lefty’s and Heredia has not hit righty’s, so play Tucker in right if you must, so be it, someone needs to explain why we’re seemingly purposefully doing the opposite of what past performance and statistics would lead you to in center.

Surely, we are early on to decide we know everything about Derek Shelton or his managerial style. In fact, he was asked about his style the other day and he straight up said he wasn’t sure he could say he had one yet. Smart answer, backed by the evidence we’ve had placed before us thus far.

The Bullpen Continues To Struggle, But The Bats Save The Day

After an extremely disappointing loss to Milwaukee on Monday night due a collapse in the bullpen, along with some questionable managerial decisions by Derek Shelton, Pittsburgh came into Tuesdays game with the goal of righting the ship; calling on veteran pitcher, Derek Holland, in his first start of the year and his first in a regular season game wearing a Pirates uniform.

Holland began the game by allowing a single to the Brewers leadoff man, Lorenzo Cain, but eventually settled down; striking out both Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun to end the top half of the 1st. The next inning began with the Dutch Oven striking out a third straight batter, Jedd Gyorko. In the end Holland was maybe left in at least one batter too long as Keston Hiura homered off of him in the bottom of the 6th, bringing in Lorenzo Cain, who had walked earlier, in the process. Through 5 2/3 innings Holland would throw a total of 90 pitches; allowing 2 runs on only 2 hits. He did strike out 5 Milwaukee batters while hitting one and allowing 3 free passes, including the costly one to Cain.

For the other side, righty and former Pirate Josh Lindblom started out strong as well, allowing only one hit through two while striking four and walking one. The Pirates did threaten in the bottom of the 2nd, but Cole Tucker fell victim to a change up from Lindblom to end the inning; leaving runners stranded on 2nd and 3rd. It wasn’t until the bottom of the 4th that the Pirates were finally able to get to the Brewers’ hurler. As predicted by Dejan Kovacevic, Bryan Reynolds eventually got his bat going with a single and a double in his first two plate appearances, but it would be Guillermo Heredia that would get the scoring started with RBI single, scoring Colin Moran and the aforementioned Reynolds. Lindblom would then strike out Tucker for the second time before being lifted due to injury. His final line was 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 5 strikes and 3 walks in 3 2/3 innings.

With the score tied 2-2 at the end of the 6th inning it was time for the Pirates and Brewers bullpens to duke it out. Unfortunately the Bucco relievers were not up to the task at hand as Chris Stratton and Miguel Del Pozo combined to walk the first four Brewers they faced in the top of the 7th. Del Pozo went on to give up a double to Orlando Arcia, extending Milwaukee’s lead to 5-2. After an intentional walk of Cain to load the bases, he was ultimately lifted in favor of the recently recalled Geoff Hartlieb. Thanks to a heads up play by Heredia in centerfield on a sacrifice fly by Hiura the Pirates were able to avoid even more damage; nailing Arcia with great throw at third base.

Luckily for the Pirates, the Brew Crew’s pen was just as willing to allow runs; letting Pittsburgh back into the game in the bottom of the 7th. Tucker and John Ryan Murphy reached base on back to back singles; which were then followed by a walk, a hit batsman, a throwing error by first baseman Justin Smoak and finally a double by Phillip Evans. Just like that the game was once again knotted up, this time at 6 a piece.

As the 8th inning began it looked like the excitement and joy for Pirates fans was going to be short lived as Hartlieb quickly gave up singles to Ryan Braun and Eric Sogard, but Reynolds saved the game for the time being by throwing out Braun who tried to score on a fly ball to left. A ground to the next batter, Avisail Garcia, and Hartlieb was out of the jam almost as fast as he got into it.

Riding high on the offense output from the 7th and the defensive performance from the top of the 8th, the Pirates bats continued to heat up as Tucker led off with a double and Adam Frazier knocked him in on his first home run of the season. Nick Burdi would follow in the top of the 9th. After a walk to the first batter, Burdi struck out the next swinging and ended the game with a double play ball off the bat Lorenzo Cain; preserving the Pirates victory 8-6 and recording his first career save.

In this game both Bryan Reynolds and Cole Tucker got off the goose egg with two hits a piece, which was really nice to see. However, it is still tough for me to get another bad outing by the bullpen out of my mind as the Pirates will look to get the best of the Brewers in the rubber match tomorrow at PNC when Joe Musgrove takes the mound for the second time this season, versus Brandon Woodruff, who is 0-1 on the season with a 3.60 ERA.

Five Thoughts at Five

The sports world is swirling with activity let’s dive right into some thoughts on some of the bigger ones.

  1. Craig and I have both been thinking about a couple things related to the COVID tests in the Miami Marlins locker room. First, and I should say we questioned this a while back, most teams have built their satellite rosters with an eye toward development, we believe the sites were intended to be ready to serve drop in replacements for just the eventuality we’re seeing. I’m certainly not ignoring this is more than any team probably expected, but surely some were expected. The plan was to have replacements ready, but most teams stocked it with draft picks and prospects probably not ready for AAA, Pirates included. On the other hand, does Miami or for that matter Pittsburgh have enough players like that to realistically do that?
  2. While I firmly believe Colin Moran is better than a large swath of fans perceived prior to the season opening, let’s do try not to swing wildly toward the other side. It helps that Ke’Bryan Hayes is not with the club but how much do you hear his name right now? Funny how that works huh? On another note, if Polanco hit like Moran he’d be a pretty successful extension wouldn’t he?
  3. Jacob Stallings is actually very fun to watch field his position. He’s caught three games thus far and by my count stolen between 20-23 strikes and gunned down two runners trying to steal. I’ll tell you what I’d do if I’m Shelton, I’d make sure next time Trevor Williams pitches he gets Stallings as his catcher. Williams’ game is all about the black and to not provide him what Jacob does back there is to not maximize what he can do. Watch next time Murphy gets a game, he’s a pretty good backstop don’t get me wrong, but watch the calls the pitchers don’t get. AT&T Sportsnet’s new overlay strike zone really makes it easy to see exactly how Stallings does it and its just as filthy as some of the sliders Chad Kuhl tossed yesterday.
  4. I’ve often said I write about baseball because I’d never be able to shut the fan off for the Penguins. Welcome back to action Penguins!
  5. After witnessing what we did on Monday night at PNC, I’m actually grateful that Derek Shelton has this 60 game schedule to get the rookie out of him.

We’d love to hear from you on any or all of these issues, follow me on Twitter @garymo2007 and Craig @bucsbasement so we can chat during the games.

Pirates Lose 6-5 and Derek Shelton Had a Rough Night

The Pirates had a lot of firsts in this game, the first rain delay, the first piggyback start, the first blown save, the first extra inning action and finally we saw the honeymoon for Derek Shelton at least come back to Earth a bit.

Sure, its early to lay a judgement on Shelton, and I’m certainly not trying to forecast his career because of one game, but it’s so rare to  be able to directly lay a win or a loss at the feet of the manager that when it happens it gets your attention.

The night started off under the specter that MLB could come to a screeching halt after the Marlins had an outbreak of COVID cases. Steven Brault started his half of the piggyback start and had it stunted at two innings by a rain delay.

Immediately following the rain Colin Moran gave the Bucs the lead with a bomb over the Clemente Wall. A 1-0 lead that would hold as Chad Kuhl gave the Pirates 4 scoreless and looked incredible doing it. Mixing his pitches and hitting his spots. Nik Turley did allow the Brewers to tie the game in the seventh and Richard Rodriguez pitched a scoreless frame to preserve the lead Colin Moran helped get back with another bomb, this one landing in the river.

The Pirates headed into the ninth with a 5-1 lead and then everything fell apart.

Let’s backtrack just a little, because most of the questions that this game spawned came from the dugout. As I mentioned Colin Moran hit a second homerun and at this point the Pirates had a 2-1 lead, a walk and an error put two on the bases and the Brewers went to hard throwing lefty Alex Claudio who promptly struck out Gregory Polanco.

Now some people had questions about that decision, leaving Polanco in to face the tough lefty was a gamble and in isolation it would be just that but let’s keep going. Claudio walked the next batter to load the bases and Jarrod Dyson stepped up with two outs and the bases juiced.

Dyson hasn’t had a hit against a lefty is quite some time, it seemed a perfect opportunity to get Phillip Evans, or well, any right-handed batter really to take the at bat. Shelton stuck with Dyson and he came through driving in two runs and opening the score. The Bucs would tack on another but just because something works doesn’t mean it makes sense.

Expanded rosters have put more options at the finger of the skipper, worked out or no, Dyson was not the best option there. But hey, two runs, no harm no foul right? That’s a whole lot of being a manager, not every decision is perfect but most of the time it evens out.

Look at it this way and Shelty was ahead of the game at this point, unfortunately he pushed all the chips in and bet it all on Michael Feliz.

Here we are, ninth inning, Bucs up by 4 and a clean sheet for Feliz. He struggled. A single, walk, strikeout, and another single loaded the bases. It was pretty clear Michael didn’t have whatever Shelton hoped and having no knowledge Burdi was unavailable it seemed obvious to get him up. Even so Feliz remained and this almost worked out for Shelton too as Yelich hit a grounder to first, Josh Bell either didn’t trust his arm throwing to second or misread the play so instead of a game ending double play and a Pirates win the inning continued with runners at second and third and two outs.

Now Shelton brings in Kyle Crick and the ending was damn near written; Braun stroked a single to left after narrowly avoiding a slider that didn’t slide on Crick’s first pitch tying the game.

There were other options, Stratton, Brubaker, Holmes, Erlin, someone. Crick just does not have whatever he had in 2018 and the most obvious thing beside control is velocity. Something is wrong, I’m no doctor, not a sports psychologist but the Pirates don’t have 162 games to help him figure it out. Not much more demoralizing for a young club than blowing games they have no business losing.

This team isn’t good to say the least but considering the possibility, hell likelihood, that several under .500 teams will make the playoffs in this shortened and odd season, squandering starting pitching like they got last night can’t go unnoticed.

Shelton will make a ton of decisions throughout his career, I have no doubt for the most part they’ll even out, but on this night, he raised more questions than he answered.

News & Notes:

  • Obviously, everyone wanted to understand why Nick Burdi wasn’t brought in for the ninth. Shelton after the game said he wasn’t available due to being careful with him returning from the injury he suffered in 2019. Now, if he can’t pitch back to back games after an eleven-pitch outing, chances are he simply can’t pitch back to back games, at least not for now.
  • Colin Moran continues to impress, drilling 2 homeruns and in general just looking strong at the plate. He looks confident in all situations and defensively replacing him in the ninth is another Shelton decision you could rightly question. Sure, would have been nice for him to come up with a runner at third and one out in the eleventh instead of Egon.
  • Chad Kuhl looked strong. Placing his pitches with both the fastball and his breaking stuff. It played against lefty’s too which prior to injury was his biggest struggle.
  • Steven Brault was a bit wild, no telling how deep he gets into the game if there were no rain delay but I suspect we’d be reading a completely different story today without one.

Yinzer Reactions: Everything Is Great OR It’s The End Of The World

Pittsburgh Pirates Fans are one thing above all else, passionate. We have some of the most extreme reactions, both negative and positive to every set of circumstances, player(s), managers, opponents, stadiums, rules and everything else baseball related. You name it, we will either cheer as loud as we can to drown you out or boo until you beg us to stop; because it’s just what we do. As baseball season began just a few days ago until now I have seen things go from doom and gloom to elation back and forth countless times, so much so that I had a hard time shuffling through the madness to find out what is really going with our 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates. After I took a step back and could finally see the forest for the trees, I thought I would share with you all the 5 positive and negative takeaways from the opening weekend of baseball for our Buccos; because we as Yinzers know, not everything can be positive.

Positive Takeaways

1) Jose Osuna has done well with early season opportunities. From a two run single on Opening Night to a 2 run homer on Sunday afternoon, Osuna has made his presence known early and often. Going 3 for 8 with 4 RBIs to begin the season is one quick way to get the manager’s attention and earn extra playing time and/or get the nod in high pressure situations off the bench.

2) Colin Moran is probably better than a lot of people give him credit for. The last two seasons Moran was an absolute defensive liability posting a -11 DRS in 2018 and -13 DRS in 2019. However, with the ability and opportunity to play multiple positions, as well as still getting at bats as a designated hitter, Moran could slowly change the perception of him held by many Pirates Fans. So far in 2020 Moran has played third and first base, while DHing in between; going 4 for 11 with a home run and a double.

3) JT Brubaker finally gets to make his Major League Debut. It may be a year later than many of us expected after such a great start to the 2019 AAA season. Through 4 starts Brubaker had 2-1 record with a 2.57 ERA, a 1.095 WHIP, 20 strike outs in 21 innings. Then the injury bug struck and his season was ended after two rehab starts in West Virginia. On Sunday afternoon as Brubaker came into the game in relief, something he hasn’t done since the 2018 Arizona Fall League and had done only two other times in his professional career. In two innings of work he struck out 4 and did not allow a run. He did get hit hard three times, but worked around the situation without being phased at all.

4) Phillip Evans might be the first “find” for Ben Cherington, Derek Shelton and Company. The Pirates signed the Minor League Free Agent to a contract and invited him to Spring Training. Many times these types of signings are made for depth within the organization and these players often find themselves in Indianapolis with the Indians for the season. In a year without Minor League Baseball, Evan was afforded a unique opportunity and took full advantage of it; ultimately making the Opening Day 30 Man Roster. On Sunday he got his first hit as a Pirate and added two more for good measure, driving in Josh Bell on a double in the 8th Inning.

5) Nick Burdi has the all the makings of full-time “closer” of the future. Last April it seemed like Burdi’s young career could be over as he lay on the mound, clutching his elbow in obvious pain. It was absolutely heart wrenching to watch. Now, a little over a year later, he stood with his foot on the rubber trying to close out the game versus the Cardinals to give the Pirates their first win of the season. He made quick work of the heart of St. Louis’ lineup, striking out all three swinging and throwing only 11 pitches.

Negative Takeaways

1) Bryan Reynolds has yet to record a hit this season. I know it has only been three games, but you never want to see one of your stars begin a season like this; 0 for 10 with two strike outs. He has reached base twice on walks, which is a positive in a long line of negatives. For the player that has done nothing but hit his entire professional career and battled for the batting title in his Rookie season, I hope this is just a little bump in the road and not a full on Sophomore Slump.

2) Trevor Williams continues to struggle. In his season debut Williams allowed three runs on five hits, only lasting 3 2/3 Innings while tossing 67 pitches. After a tremendous end to the 2018 season and a strong start to 2019, he just hasn’t been the same. Originally I chalked his struggles from last season up to a side strain suffered on May 16th versus the Padres. However, after a less than optimal Spring Training, Summer Camp and 1st start of the season I am starting to doubt myself.

3) Kyle Crick appears to have lost velocity on and control of his pitches. Over the past two seasons his fastball has averaged around 95 to 96 mph. Right now it is sitting at closer to 92. For a pitcher with control issues that can’t rely on speed to fool batters, this year could turn out to be a catastrophe. Add in some defensive blunders, like the ones from Saturday night, and Crick’s days in the Pirates Bullpen could be numbered.

4) Richard Rodriguez is a home run machine, in a bad way. In the 8th inning on Friday, Paul DeJong took a Richard Rodriguez fastball over the right field fence. Rodriguez gave up a career high 14 homers last season, which was 5 more than had given up the previous two years combined. Shelton just can’t continue to walk him out there every few days like Hurdle did last year.

5) Defensive struggles and miscues have continued. Yesterday the Cardinals were able to score their only run off of Mitch Keller because he forgot to cover first base. On Saturday Kyle Crick thought he had the baseball in his glove while trying to make a play, which eventually led to all four run attributed to him being unearned. On Friday night Newman had a sloppy double clutch and a throwing error. It was a comedy of defensive blunders that can’t continue because for a team that has minimal room for error, it can easily turn a win into a loss.

Now I know what many of you are already thinking as many of these points could be seen as overreactions to a bunch of small sample sizes. However, shouldn’t that be expected. After all I am Yinzer too.