I’m pretty sure the Pirates are running the table–that’s right, winning the Central, the NL pennant, and then the World Championship.  We hit, we pitch, we run, we play defense.  We take five out of six on the homestand, and have only played one bad inning in two series.  Take that Milwaukee–the Pirates have ripped you 32-5.  Chris Capuano’s supposed to be good?  Ask Sean Casey, Jason Bay, and Jose Castillo what they think of when they hear Milwaukee’s ace’s name mentioned.  It’d probably be something like "kabooooom!"

Freddy Sanchez is second in the National League in batting average.  Jose Castillo has now homered in five consecutive games–call him Jason Jr.  Mr. Bay is the NL Player of the Month or I’m writing Bud Selig a letter–he blasted yet another ball into the PNC Park stands (that’s 11 HR in his last 13 games).  And the pitching!  The Bucs’ flamethrowers scattered three hits to the Brew Crew tonight, and would’ve shut them out if Ian Snell hadn’t left a hanger up in the zone to Jeff Cirillo.

The playoffs may (or may not) be out of the question.  But .500 certainly isn’t.  Blind optimism after a short winning streak?  Probably.  But maybe not.  This team had high hopes at the beginning of the season, and is only now playing with the core group of starters that Tracy had penciled in during the offseason.  Sean Casey makes an enormous difference for this group–his contributions alone could be enough to turn a team scuffling through a month and a half of baseball into something worth rooting for.  Here’s hoping the Pirates turn things around, build on their 15-12 home record and newly discovered power, keep mashing and bashing and thrashing the opposition, and start the climb back towards respectability.

We bring out the brooms tomorrow afternoon.  And then we bring in Brian Giles and the Padres as the Pirates look to put an exclamation point on a five-star ten game homestand.

Raise the Jolly Roger!  It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

It was just one of those nights.  Everything moved in perfect harmony.  The pieces of the puzzle all fell into place.  The lineup flowed more smoothly than Henry Ford’s assembly line.

Jose Castillo continued his Jason Bay streak, homering in his fourth consecutive game.  His 4-4, 6 RBI night was highlighted by a two Bucco Blast performance.  Man Crush Sanchez added four hits of his own, raising his average to .342 and challenging for a spot atop the NL leaderboard.

As a direct result of the recent offensive outburst, six of the Pirates’ starters now are at .300 or better:  Jack, Jason, Freddy, Ronny, Mr. Castillo and Sean Casey.  Jason’s also slowly creeping towards Albert Pujols in the NL’s RBI category, adding number 45 this evening.

Victor Santos came back after getting the win in Saturday night’s 18 inning affair to toss six innings of three hit ball, surrendering the lone Brewer run.  Damaso Marte, Roberto Hernandez, and John Grabow combined for three scoreless innings of relief.

Even Jim Tracy seemed to do everything right:

• He didn’t extend Santos too far, nor yank him too soon.  He let Victor put up quality numbers, and then pulled him in time to get his bullpen a little work.
• He sat his young lefties against the southpaw starter, but still got at-bats for McLouth and Doumit; even Jose Hernandez got a plate appearance and managed to get a hit.  Jimbo managed his deep bench well (granted that’s not too challenging in a monster win).

You’ve got to feel good about a 12-1 win the night after bashing the Brew Crew 14-3.  The Pirates are hitting on all cylinders, getting top notch work from the pitching staff, and playing serviceable defense.  They wrapped up their second series win in a row and look for the sweep tomorrow (although it’ll be a dogfight with Chris Capuano on the mound for Milwaukee).

We got to see much of the Pirates’ bench tonight.  I only wonder if Humberto Cota will ever see the field in a Pirates’ uniform again.  He’s been lying dormant for quite awhile–it doesn’t look as if he’ll be around much longer.  Burnitz and McLouth will probably see time against righties, with Wilson, Bautista, and Sanchez working against lefties.  At this rate, though, I can’t see what excuse Tracy has to ever pull Freddy out of the lineup.  The kid’s absolutely raking the ball.  Bay, Sanchez, and Castillo are armed and extremely dangerous.

Remember to vote for your favorite Pirates to play in the ASG.  Show some love for Jason Bay!

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

It’s still early, so you have time to redeem yourselves.  But really…how are these guys the top 15 vote-getters for outfielders in the National League?

1. Andruw Jones, Braves 420,462
2. Carlos Beltran, Mets 341,769
3. Jim Edmonds, Cardinals 334,027
4. Ken Griffey, Jr., Reds 326,592
5. Alfonso Soriano, Nationals 273,373
6. Bobby Abreu, Phillies 244,212
7. Carlos Lee, Brewers 224,829
8. Barry Bonds, Giants 210,146
9. Adam Dunn, Reds 180,379
10. Aaron Rowand, Phillies 162,741
11. Xavier Nady, Mets 142,278
12. Juan Encarnacion, Cardinals 137,439
13. Jeff Francoeur, Braves 136,478
14. So Taguchi, Cardinals 135,178
15. Juan Pierre, Cubs 134,527

Fans, give Jason Bay some justice.  Vote the two-time NL Player of the Week and homerun hitter extraordinaire into the starting lineup for the ASG at PNC Park.  Or at least get him into the top 15.  So Taguchi?  Come on.

So while I was throwing away cash playing poker last night, the Pirates were mercilessly thrashing the Brewers.  They owned Doug Davis, who hasn’t quite yet looked like his strikeout artist self from 2005, and the Bucs ended up knocking out a season high 18 hits.  Of course I miss the game when we’re unstoppable.

Sean Casey’s back from the DL, going 3-4 with 3 RBI, and Jason Bay showed that he is only human, going 1-5 with no homeruns.  The streak stops at six consecutive games with a homerun.  Cheers, Jason.

The lineup looked like this last night:

Bautista (cf) / J. Wilson (ss) / Casey (1b) / Bay (lf) / C. Wilson (rf) / Sanchez (3b) / Castillo (2b) / Paulino (c) / Duke (p)

As you can tell from the boxscore, it was a good day for just about everyone wearing the home whites.  Freddy Sanchez un-funked himself, and all the starters minus Paulino (0-3, 2 BB) came away with hits.

But where does that leave the "rebuilding" Pirates?  Nate McLouth and Jeromy Burnitz found splinters in their bums last night, a phenomenon that will undoubtedly be afflicting Craig, Freddy, Ryan, and Jose in the future.  When Joe Randa comes back, we’ve got an incredibly deep bench.  But is that what this team needs?

I’m all for sending Doumit down to the minors so that he can get regular work, either at catcher or first base or outfield or wherever he fits into Dave Littlefield’s master plan.  Paulino has a stranglehold on the starts at catcher, and Sean Casey should play at least five days a week.  Craig Wilson is back to being a super sub, unless we move him to the Cubs, Yanks, or another team looking for corner infield or outfield help.  Jeromy Burnitz might be more trade bait if he heats up enough to masquerade as a serviceable big league outfielder.  Freddy will again get the short end of the stick, making spot starts at all of the infield positions but never claiming one as his own.

To sum it up, the depth chart looks like:

C Paulino, Cota, Doumit 1b Casey, Wilson, Hernandez, Doumit 2b Castillo, Sanchez, Hernandez SS Wilson, Sanchez, Hernandez 3b Randa, Sanchez, Bautista, Hernandez, Edwards OF Bay, McLouth, Burnitz, Bautista, Wilson, Duffy

When Kip Wells returns, we’re going to have a similar problem with pitchers–six starters (Gorzelanny makes seven) who could make a case to be in the rotation and not enough spots to keep everyone happy.  Does DL keep the depth or start the firesale?  We should find out soon enough.

In any case, Victor Santos toes the rubber for the Bucs at 7:05 tonight.  Let’s keep the ball rolling, guys.  It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

I figured I’d chime in with a few Memorial Day baseball thoughts now; later I’m off to eat lots of grilled red meat and then to play in a juicy poker game, so I probably won’t get a chance to update tonight.

• First off, I’d like to say how much I like using these bullets instead of my previous dashed points.  What a discovery–makes life much easier.
• No need to delay it any longer:  Congratulations are in order for Barry Bonds, #25 in your program but #24 in my heart.  He hit nearly 200 of his round-trippers while wearing black and gold, and I thank him for it.  An integral part of the teams that last brought playoff-caliber baseball to Pittsburgh, Mr. Bonds achieved a great milestone yesterday.  Onward and upwards, Barry, and hopefully someday the truth will be outed so that we know with how much respect to admire your statistics.
• Something that eases the pain of seeing Barry Bonds hit 500+ homeruns after leaving the Bucs:  cold Yuengling.  That, and Jason Bay, who might just hit 500 homeruns this month.  Citizens of the Greater Pittsburgh Area are under a heat advisory; the 90 degree temperatures overtaking the city are a direct result of our Silver Slugger’s recent rampage, which shows no signs of slowing.  Residents are reminded to regularly consume ice-cold beverages and to watch out for flying baseballs in the area immediately surrounding the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
• Zach Duke takes the hill tonight against Doug Davis from the Milwaukee Brewing Company.  Two talented lefties with tons of upside on a beautiful early summer night.  I almost regret sitting at a felt table tonight instead of in the PNC Park bleachers.
• How about the guy that caught Barry’s 715th homerun ball?  In a concessions line while history was in the making?  Shame on him for six months.  But there is such a thing as right-place-right-time.  How much will the ball fetch?  Big bucks, I’m sure.
• Is Kerry Wood back?  Mark Prior’s making a AAA start soon, if I’m not mistaken.  The Cubbies could make a run–think last year’s Astros or every year’s A’s.  If Derek Lee recovers faster than expected or they get some trade help (such as Craig Wilson, anyone?), I think they can make a push.
• Finally, thanks to all veterans who served our country in any way, shape, or form.  To you I am greatly indebted.  To those who made the supreme sacrifice, I give my most sincere thank you.  Happy Memorial Day, everyone.

Let’s Go Bucs!

Bob Walk and Lanny Frattare put it mildly when they said today’s ten inning loss to Houston was disappointing.  Ollie looked fabulous through eight, giving us just what the doctor ordered in one heckuva quality start.  His nine strikeout performance went to waste in the top of the ninth, though, as he let the first two baserunners reach–the merry-go-round started for the Astros and didn’t stop until they’d tied the score.  Extra frames didn’t treat us well today, and we let a 4-0 lead slip away.  "BOOM" blows his first save of the year and Salomon takes the nauseating loss.

Jason Bay and Jose Bautista were the RBI men today, both firing cannonshot Bucco Blasts.  For Jason, it was his tenth homerun in as many games, including six straight.  If you’re a Pirates fan, a Canadian, you drink Iron City or Molson, you like seeing mammoth, crucial homeruns–heck, maybe you just appreciate reading Jake‘s, Nicolas‘s, or my Pirates’ posts–whatever the reason, please VOTE FOR JASON BAY.  The 2006 All-Star Game is in Pittsburgh, and who better to patrol leftfield for the National League than J-Bay?  Sliced bread?  It ain’t got nothin’ on Jason Bay. Give the kid the start, he’s earned it.

My favorite baseball memory just changed.  A Jack Wilson grand slam is exciting; a Cliff Floyd fan controversy is hilarious.  But an eighteen inning, six hour marathon game is unique–the stamina, the strategy, the larger-than-life unbelievable homeruns–something that I won’t soon forget.

A buddy and I got deck seats right underneath the scoreboard and settled in for a perfect baseball night at 6:30.  Little did we know that we’d be leaving the ballpark at 1 AM after playing a pseudo-doubleheader.

The Oliver Perez and Mike Gonzalez bobblehead drew nearly 32,000 fans into PNC Park, and by the eighteenth inning, there were still thousands in attendance.  The aisles filled up following the bottom of the ninth when hundreds headed to the exits after the Pirates failed to score off of Dan Wheeler–those fans missed a whole extra game.  The way I look at it, my $12 ticket was a two-for-one deal.  I feel privileged to have seen the longest game in PNC’s six year history.

My pen started to run dry and my scorecard began filling up at about the twelfth–and I still had six more innings of baseball left to record.  It was a game that killed batting averages, ruined bullpens and benches, and destroyed the knees of Eric Munson, the poor soul who caught all eighteen innings of Astros’ pitching.  It was a game that saw Jason Bay hit his ninth homerun in as many games, a fifth inning blast that put the Pirates back into the lead after Paul Maholm struggled early.  It was a game that featured crucial homeruns from both Jeromy Burnitz and Jose Castillo–an eigth inning shot that tied the contest at six and the dinger in the seventeenth that will only be referred to as The Homerun.

Jose came to the plate in the bottom of the seventeenth knowing that the Pirates needed to push across at least one runner to force more extra play after Ryan Vogelsong let up his first score in five heartwrenching innings in the top half.  Mr. Castillo wasted no time, blasting relief pitcher Mike Gallo’s first offering on a ride deep into the Pirates’ bullpen.  Just when the Pirates thought they’d allowed the most exciting baseball game I’d ever witnessed to slip away, Jose pulled them out of the hole with a shot that electrified those loyal fans still in attendance.  But Freddy Sanchez, a 1 for 8 hitter (with a walk) on the night, eventually popped out to Morgan Ensberg in foul territory with two runners on to move the game to the eighteenth.

After Victor Santos pitched an emergency inning with relative ease (given the circumstances), the Pirates brought Jason Bay to the plate with the aim of sending everyone home before the bars closed.  He led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, and then to third on another as Gallo attempted to intentionally walk Craig Wilson.  Jose Bautista lifted a sacrifice fly to Willy Taveras in middle-deep center with Bay tagging at third; Taveras’ throw beat Bay to the plate, but Jason went Pete Rose all over Eric Munson, dislodging the ball and sending the unfortunate Astros catcher sprawling onto his backside.  Game over, 8-7, raise the Jolly Roger and start blaring "A New Pirates Generation."  Everybody shout, "Let’s Go Bucs!"

I get home around 2, put in my eight hours of sack time, wake up for brunch, and settle in for another Bucs’ game as we go for the sweep.  Oliver Perez faces Nieve from Houston at 1:35–here’s hoping we get the task done in nine today.

What a day to be a Pirates’ fan!

Hey hey hey, the Pirates are .500 at home, Jason Bay has eight Bucco Blasts in as many games, and we’ve got our ace on the mound tonight.  It’s a Saturday night contest between the Astros and Bucs with a "Fire and Ice" Perez and Gonzo dual bobblehead promotion.  The sun’s shining, the rain has finally stopped, and we’ve got a one game winning streak going.  It’s a good day to be a Pirates fan.

I’ve been writing almost entirely about game wrap-ups and not-so-much about the season as a whole.  So, in my opinion, here’s how we stand as we sit at 14-32.

Let Me Buy You A Drink

• Jason Bay, All-Star LF, team leader, and resident good guy.  After sharing NL Player of the Week honors, the guy’s hotter than the steering wheel on a sunny July day.  He sent balls into orbit in Arizona, and as of Wednesday is in the .299-13-35 range with 34 BB.  He’s come into his own after a slow offensive start by the team.
• Freddy Sanchez, or Freddy-of-all-trades.  In Spring Training, who would’ve pegged Freddy as the #3 hitter in the order?  He’s played 2b, 3b, and SS, providing versatility on the infield, and has hit at a .341-4-23 clip.  He’s making Jim Tracy write his name on the lineup card every day.  You can’t ask for much more.
• Mike Gonzalez, Here Comes The BOOM.  He’s 1-3 with a 2.12 ERA and is a perfect 6/6 in save opportunities.  Letting Senor Smoke leave was a good decision as BOOM owns the ninth inning in Pittsburgh for the forseeable future.
• Roberto Hernandez, the mentor.  Just a 1.86 ERA and 2/2 in saves.  Put the ball in the ageless wonder’s hand and he gets outs.  Great addition to the ballclub.
• Paul Maholm, the top draft choice.  He suffered in April like the rest of the Bucs, but in each of his last five times out, he’s gone at least 5.2 innings and given up no more than three runs.  His last two starts read 12.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 15 K.  He’s risen to the top of the rotation.

B.Y.O.B.

• Jose Castillo, Jack Wilson, Craig Wilson, Nate McLouth, Zach Duke, Ian Snell, Damaso Marte.
• The hitters have had their bright spots, but haven’t produced consistently.  Jose was as cold as the other side of the pillow, but has raised his BA near .300 after hitting upwards of .400 in May.  Jack missed time because of his hammy, but is around .290 and playing his trademark defense.  Craig played his way into the lineup and filled in well for the injured Sean Casey, but hadn’t hit a homerun in years before going deep as part of a 4-5 game last night in Arizona.  Nate had to split time with Chris Duffy, but when he took over the bulk of the starts in center, he went on a tear and hasn’t stopped hitting.
• The pitchers have thrown well, but not all of the time.  Duke and Snell have been on and off in the rotation but have definitely displayed their upside.  Marte has a 3.60 ERA and is the first lefty out of the pen, but is 0/2 in save situations and has had some hairy apperances recently.

Last Call

• Ronny Paulino, Jose Bautista, Jeromy Burnitz, Salomon Torres, Matt Capps, Oliver Perez, Victor Santos.
• Ronny and Jose are playing higher than they should be, but have produced nonetheless.  Fatigue has become an issue for Paulino, I think, and Jose has been forced to play all over the diamond without taking any position as his own.  Jeromy looked like he didn’t know what a baseball was for much of the season, but started to come out of his funk offensively on the last road trip.
• Torres is the setup man, but has been overworked, contributing to a higher than normal ERA.  Tracy relies on him, but Salomon hasn’t always performed.  Capps has a stellar 22/3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but his 4.76 ERA shows his youth.  He’ll be a good one eventually.  Oliver lost some velocity off of his fastball which hurt him early on, but he’s been better the last couple of times out.  Santos has performed relatively consistently–the only problem is that he’s consistently mediocre.

Drunken Bar Fight

• Joe Randa, Humberto Cota, Mike Edwards, Jose Hernandez, Ryan Vogelsong, John Grabow.
• Typing their names makes me cringe.  They won’t contribute to the organization in the long haul–mostly stopgap players or guys who just haven’t panned out.  Tracy puts them in and they fail.  Not guys that I’d want on my 25-man roster if I were in charge.

Can I See Some I.D.?

• Ryan Doumit, Chris Duffy, Sean Casey.  Not performing up to par due to injuries, coaching decisions, position battles, etc.  Their talent dictates that they should come around, but haven’t looked like themselves as of yet.

Just A Sip

• Tom Gorzelanny, Josh Sharpliss, Yurendell de Caster, Rajai Davis, Adam Boeve.  All guys that could see time in the bigs by the end of the season based on their performances throughout their minor league careers.  Gorzelanny is the staff ace at AAA Indianapolis and should be up sooner rather than later.  Sharpliss is an out machine and would be a great addition to the ‘pen.  Yurendell played in the WBC and got a cup of coffee when Bautista left the team for personal reasons.  Boeve tore up AA Altoona and went 10 for his first 15 in Indy.

I didn’t think we’d see 8-7 with Duke and Batista on the mound, but by now I should have learned to expect the unexpected.

Jason Grey’s article for MLB.com says just about everything that could be said.  Here’s the defining snippet, in my opinion:

Pittsburgh is seemingly in every game, but is losing by the thinnest of margins. The team continues to fight back from deficits and is on the cusp of pulling it off, but can’t close the deal, as it is 0-29 when trailing after seven innings. The Pirates are just 4-14 in one-run games.

"We always seem to talk about that," said manager Jim Tracy. "We always seem to be one hit away from good things happening."

"We tried to fight back a little bit at the end and it wasn’t enough," said Freddy Sanchez, shaking his head.

At least we hit the ball.  J-Bay knocked another one out of Chase Field–I apologize for calling it B.O.B. in a previous post–and Craig Wilson went deep as part of a 4-5 night.  Our two through five hitters went 10-19 with 6 RBI (but did leave eight men on base).  Jose Bautista got the start in right as Tracy sat down the $6.5 million man.

But there were two more errors that contributed to an unearned run, and Saloman Torres pitched a less than impressive seventh inning (1 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 ER).  The D-backs took all three from us in Arizona, making for a disappointing end to the road trip.

We come back for a nine game homestand starting Friday against Houston.  Snell takes the bump against Taylor Buchholz at 7:05.