Friday, June 24, 2011
Three??
Nearing the end of June and the Pirates are just three games out of first? Who'd have thunk it? Worried about the next three games though, Boston ain't gonna be easy.
Labels: Baseball, Pirates, pittsburgh
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Instant Replay
While watching last night's Pirates/Dodgers game, the "instant replay" issue reared its head. In the top of the eighth with a runner on first and no one out, the Dodgers' Juan Uribe hit a sinking fly to Pirates' left fielder Jose Tabata. Tabata slid and made the apparent catch, got up and fired the ball in to Walker, who relayed to first to double off Matt Kemp. If Tabata doesn't make the catch, then Kemp easily makes third, and in a tie game late with runners at the corners and no one out, LA in all likelyhood comes up with at least a run.
The replay showed that the ball hit the ground just before winding up in Tabata's glove, which of course, brought up instant replay. Should it be used to overturn incorrect calls by the umpires?
There's a couple of issues here. One, is this a solution in search of a problem? Major League unpires are generally very, very good, and almost always make the correct call (of course, there are exceptions). Overall, during the course of a season, those blown calls will tend to average out. For example, on Sunday, Andrew McCutcheon made a diving grab in center that was called a trap, although the replay showed he caught the ball cleanly.
The other issue is what do you do with the baserunners? If no one is on, its fairly easy, award the batter first base if the replay shows the catch was actually a trap. However, what about the baserunners? If we allow field calls to be overturned based on instant replay, a baserunner would benefit by attempting to advance on any sinking liner or fly. If the ball is caught, he's likely to be doubled off anyway, while if its a trap, he's likely to get the extra base or possibly even score. As the game stands now, a prudent baserunner holds up to see if the ball is actually ruled a catch or not before attempting to advance or retreat.
Instant replay overrules are likely to slow the game down, and would more than likely result in very few overturned calls. I say leave it out. But then again, I'm a purist. I can't stand the DH, I like bunting, basestealing, and pitcher duels, and I'm against mediocre fielding shortstops who start because they can hit homeruns. So there.
Oh, and the Buccos are over .500, two games out and in third place in mid-may. WOOOO!
Labels: Baseball
Thursday, January 20, 2011
We're Number One!!!
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Cheaters Shut Out
I'm something of a baseball purist. I hate the designated hitter in the AL, and I'd be very, very dissappointed if the BBWA sent any of the Steroids Era cheaters to the Hall. Looks like the writers are of the same mind.
All-Star sluggers Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Bagwell, Mark McGwire and Juan Gonzalez didn't come close in Wednesday's election. No telling if they ever will, either, after Hall voters sent a clear message: The drug cloud isn't going to cover Cooperstown.
"I will not vote for any player connected with steroid use, because I believe cheaters shouldn't be rewarded with the sport's highest honor," Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle said in an e-mail.
Bagwell might be getting a bum rap, as there is no evidence that he was one of the cheaters> His numbers are excellent, but not into the realm of the absurd. He hit 47 homers in his best year (at 32 years old), and averaged just over 29 per year for his career. He hit more than 40 home runs only 3 years. Compare that to Bonds, who averaged close to 32 HR's a year in his first 14 years in the majors, and then averaged over 39 HRs a year for his final 8 years, beginning when he was 35 years old! Babe Ruth averaged just over 37 HR's for his final 8 years, but averaged over 40 home runs in his first 8 years with the Yankees (Ruth hit 49 HR's in 6 seasons with Boston, but he was used as a pitcher, not an everyday player there). Ruth's best year was when he was 32, Bonds when he was 36. Hank Aaron averaged over 33 HRs a year over a 23 year career. His best year for HR's was in 1971 when he hit 47 at age 37, but Aaron throughout his career hit around 35 t0 45 HRs per year. Another factor to look at is speed. During their most productive years, Bagwell, Ruth and Aaron were base stealing threats. Once he started juicing, Bonds' SB totals went through the floor.
Bagwell never tested positive, there were no public allegations against him and he was adamant that he never used illegal drugs. Still, many voters and fans aren't sure yet how to assess the huge numbers put up by the game's top hitters.
"That stuff's going to happen in this era," Bagwell said on a conference call. "People are going to have suspicion in the era I played in."
"People are going to think what they want to think. If they don't think that anybody was good in this era, then that's fine. Like I said, I'm one of the first ones to come up in that era. I'm OK with it," he said. "There's nothing I can do about it."
Barry Bonds can kiss his HoF hopes goodbye, as can Roger Clemens. Bonds was a Hall shoe-in until his enormous ego was wounded by cheaters like McGwire and Sosa. I really wish someone in San Francisco had pitched Bonds, his recliner, and his entourage onto Jamestown Avenue and told him never to return until he got over himself.
I also can't stand the apologists for these bums who squeek "Baseball didn't have a rule about steroids then!" So what? The steroids in question are, and were at the time, controlled substances. Unless one of the cheaters can produce a prescription for the drugs, I don't want to hear it. Since when does a sport need to enact a rule to prevent players from engaging in actvities that are already illegal?
Pete Rose can get lost as well.
All-Star sluggers Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Bagwell, Mark McGwire and Juan Gonzalez didn't come close in Wednesday's election. No telling if they ever will, either, after Hall voters sent a clear message: The drug cloud isn't going to cover Cooperstown.
"I will not vote for any player connected with steroid use, because I believe cheaters shouldn't be rewarded with the sport's highest honor," Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle said in an e-mail.
Bagwell might be getting a bum rap, as there is no evidence that he was one of the cheaters> His numbers are excellent, but not into the realm of the absurd. He hit 47 homers in his best year (at 32 years old), and averaged just over 29 per year for his career. He hit more than 40 home runs only 3 years. Compare that to Bonds, who averaged close to 32 HR's a year in his first 14 years in the majors, and then averaged over 39 HRs a year for his final 8 years, beginning when he was 35 years old! Babe Ruth averaged just over 37 HR's for his final 8 years, but averaged over 40 home runs in his first 8 years with the Yankees (Ruth hit 49 HR's in 6 seasons with Boston, but he was used as a pitcher, not an everyday player there). Ruth's best year was when he was 32, Bonds when he was 36. Hank Aaron averaged over 33 HRs a year over a 23 year career. His best year for HR's was in 1971 when he hit 47 at age 37, but Aaron throughout his career hit around 35 t0 45 HRs per year. Another factor to look at is speed. During their most productive years, Bagwell, Ruth and Aaron were base stealing threats. Once he started juicing, Bonds' SB totals went through the floor.
Bagwell never tested positive, there were no public allegations against him and he was adamant that he never used illegal drugs. Still, many voters and fans aren't sure yet how to assess the huge numbers put up by the game's top hitters.
"That stuff's going to happen in this era," Bagwell said on a conference call. "People are going to have suspicion in the era I played in."
"People are going to think what they want to think. If they don't think that anybody was good in this era, then that's fine. Like I said, I'm one of the first ones to come up in that era. I'm OK with it," he said. "There's nothing I can do about it."
Barry Bonds can kiss his HoF hopes goodbye, as can Roger Clemens. Bonds was a Hall shoe-in until his enormous ego was wounded by cheaters like McGwire and Sosa. I really wish someone in San Francisco had pitched Bonds, his recliner, and his entourage onto Jamestown Avenue and told him never to return until he got over himself.
I also can't stand the apologists for these bums who squeek "Baseball didn't have a rule about steroids then!" So what? The steroids in question are, and were at the time, controlled substances. Unless one of the cheaters can produce a prescription for the drugs, I don't want to hear it. Since when does a sport need to enact a rule to prevent players from engaging in actvities that are already illegal?
Pete Rose can get lost as well.
Labels: Baseball
Monday, April 05, 2010
68/365: The Pitch
I took nearly 50 pictures at Opening Day, this one is my favorite. Bucs win 11-5!! I can't remember the last time I saw three Pirate homers in the same game.Labels: Baseball, MLB, NL, opening day, Pirates, Project 365
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Don't Look Now But.....
Yes, the Pirates are still in last place, but are only nine games back with a month of baseball still to play. One of the advantages of playing in the Comedy Central I suppose.
Its improbable, but if the Bucs continue to play well, we could be talking contention THIS year.
UPDATE: Pirates sweep double header from Reds, pick up a half game on the Cubs, and are no longer in last place.
Labels: Baseball, MLB, NL, Pirates, pittsburgh
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Yawn
Freak.
Go A-Rod!
Go A-Rod!
Labels: Barry Bonds, Baseball, Bonds, Cheating, Giants, illegal drug use, MLB, NL, Steroids
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Semi-Regular National Anthem Rant
OK, you want to know why no one sings the Star Spangled Banner at ballgames anymore? It's because too many "featured artists" insist on "personalizing" it. No one knows what's going on, and the crowd is frozen out of participating so the "artist" can gratify his or her ego.
Today's Pirate game was a prime example. I did not get the woman's name, but when she starts out, "Oooooooooohhhhhhhhh sayyyyyyyyyyy caaaaaaannnnn youuuuuuuuuu SEEEEeeEEeEeEeEEeEEeEEEeeEEEeEeEe" the crowd tunes out and starts looking for the beer man. Come on! Its a patriotic aire set to the tune of an old drinking song, not a fucking dirge. Sing it properly, and the rest of us will join in.
It was a Sunday game, so the 7th inning featured "God Bless America" which most featured artists sing as Ethel Merman intended. Not today though! "GooooooooOOOOOoood bless AmeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrricccccaaAAAAAA." Yep, another funerary march, and with made up notes that aren't in any score I've ever seen. No one sang along.
It being the 7th, "God Bless America" was followed by "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" which nearly everyone sang along with, because Vince Lascheid played it the same way he's been playing it since 1908 when he first played it. Everyone knew what notes to sing, and everyone knew the pacing, so there was widespread participation.
Please Pirates, spare us these egomanicas who think they're auditioning for Star Search and give us the Marine Corps Band instead.
Labels: Baseball, national anthem, Pirates, rants, star spangled banner
Friday, June 08, 2007
What's This??
Found an odd oblong package in the mail today from the Pirates? What could it be? I had forgotten there was a special premium for season ticket holders this year! The baseball on the left is signed by Jason Bay, the one on the right by Freddy Sanchez, and a special All-Star Game ball in the center! Whoohoo!Labels: all-star game, Baseball, collectables, freddy sanchez, jason bay, Pirates, pittsburgh
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Pitcher
Finally! Some offense to back up one of the Bucs best starters. Hopefully, this isn't an abnormality. Also, it shut up Atlanta fans who were doing their stupid tomahawk chop with brooms before the game even started (and are there any MLB fans more obnoxious than Braves fans?)
Labels: Atlanta, Baseball, Braves, Ian Snell, MLB, NL, Pirates, pittsburgh
Belly Itcher
So, why is Tony Armas and his 0-3 record with 8.76 ERA still hanging around the Major Leagues while Bryan Bullington is 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA and John Van Benschoten is 3-2 with a 1.82 ERA for Indianapolis? OK, bad left handed pitching is tolerated in the Majors, but Armas doesn't even have that going for him. Hell, I can't even find a decent picture of Armas in a Pirates uniform.
Labels: Baseball, Bryan Bullington, John Van Benschoten, MLB, NL, Pirates, Tony Armas
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Wheee!!
So, I'm at the ball game last night, and I've just settled into my seat. Here comes the beer man, and I'd like one!
The guy carded me. Made my night!
Must be my youthful good looks.
The game itself, ended oddly, if you can say it ended. I never knew about the new rule on rainouts.
Labels: Baseball, beer, Pirates
Monday, April 09, 2007
Home Opener!!!
Hooray! Baseball is back in the 'burgh!Labels: Baseball, Cardinals, MLB, NL, opening day, Pirates, pittsburgh
Lunchtime at the ballpark! A box of Quaker Steak and Lube hot wings, a beer, and plenty of napkins and wetnaps!Labels: Baseball, beer, napkins, opening day, Pirates, Quaker Steak and Lube, wetnaps
Freddie Sanchez receives his Silver Slugger trophy for being the 2006 batting champ.
Labels: Baseball, Freddie Sanchez, opening day, Pirates, silver slugger
