This Chick did not dig the long ball last night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLECMCargd8
Oh, Yes. I went there. I still love that commerical even though we all know “it wasn’t the shoes” it was the juice. But still.
The Pirates Pitchers gave up 4 Homeruns D. McCutchen with 3 (Keppinger, Lee, Berkman) and Carrasco gave up a solo HR in the 6th (Pence). The Astros aren’t known for hitting a lot of HR. In fact, the 4 HR’s they hit last night passed the Pirates for the least amount hit this season (at 50).
Pitchers:
- D. McCutchen LP (1-4) 5IP 4H 4ER 3K 3BB
- Carrasco 1 IP, 1H, 1ER, 1K, 1BB
- Meek 1 IP, 1H, 2K, 2BB (1 intentional)
- Hanrahan 1 IP, 1H, 1K, 1BB
Andrew McCutchen batted lead off for the 1st time since June 11th. I actually loved the lineup last night (except for Church being in the lineup. I’d rather have Milledge) A. McCutchen, Tabata, Walker, Jones, Alvarez, Doumit, Church, Cedeno, D. McCutchen.
D. McCutchen has now given up 11 HR in 28 1/3 innings this season.
The Pirates actually hit well last night. They had 5 doubles (GFJ #18 of the season, Cedeno #10, Church #10, Walker #10, Doumit #15) However, they went 3 for 14 with RISP and 11 LOB.
Andrew McCutchen (last 15 games) is only 9-51. Batting just .176, 0HR, only 2 RBI and 15 K’s.
Don’t hit the panic button on guys like Brad Lincoln/D. McCutchen just yet. (At the start of major league career):
Roy Halladay- 35 Starts, 13-20 5.92 ERA
Tom Glavine- 43 Starts, 9-21 4.81 ERA
Greg Maddux- 36 Starts, 8-18, 5.80 ERA
There is no place like home for the Pirates (2010 Home/road stats)
Home Road
Record: 19-20 11-33
AVG: .236 .236
Runs 136 133
HR 22 31
ERA 4.42 5.79
BAA .265 .300
“It’s just inbelieveable. It really is. Ryan Church said of the accumulating road defeats. “I guess we’ve got to pretend everywhere’s PNC (Park).”
“They could have been better pitches.” McCutchen said of the three that landed over the wall. “I threw some good curveballs, some good sliders. My arm felt strong. My fastball command wasn’t as good as I’d like it to be.”
Daniel McCutchen was optioned to AAA Indy after the game.
The Pirates accuired Righty pitcher Sean Gallagher from the Padres for cash.(He will take D. McCutchens spot on the 25 man roster) Here is some info on Gallagher:
- He was DFA by SD on July 1st.
- He made 15 apperances witht he Padres and allowed 14 ER on 24 H in 23 1/3 innings. He struk out 21 and walked 19. Opp Avg: .276
- In 60 career appearences (Cubs, A’s, Padres) 23 Starts, 8-9 with a 5.57 ERA. 101 BB, 143 K in 173 Innings.
- He was the 2005 minor league pitcher of the year.
“I’d like to be a starter, but I’m ready for whatever role (the Pirates) have for me”. -Gallagher
- JR said that Gallagher will start off in middle relief role with the club.
“I think it’s more just being able to get some consistent work and being able to get back to the basics of just throwing.” When asked what has led to his command problems this season. “I’ve been a little erratic at times this year. I think I can definitely get that problem solved and be a big help.” – Gallagher
“I think the biggest thing is getting him in the pen and getting him right. It is just a matter of getting him on track.” – John Russell Pirates.com
Minor League Updates:
- Hayden Penn 5IP, 6R, 12H
- Jeff Clement 3-5, HR, 2RBI
- Gorkys Hernanadez 1-4, RBI
- Aaron Pribanic WP (5-4) 5IP, 2H, 0ER, 5K
- Starling Marte 1-2, Run
- Bryan Morris was added to the MLB futures game roster. He will join Pirates Gorkys Hernandez.
- The Pirates promoted RHP Brett Lorin to Low A West Virgina. He spent the final weeks with WV, began this season with GCL Pirates.
- Rudy Owens 4.1 IP, 13H, 5ER, 0BB, 6K
- Aaron Baker 1-4, 2 Run HR (12)
- Phillip Irwin 7IP, 5H, 1ER, 4K (WP 4-1)
Other Pirates Notes:
- The Pen in 280 innings have 248 K’s (Pretty Great!!) The starting Pitching? in 452 innings have only 258 K’s. (only 10 more then the bullpen! Horrible.)
- The Pirates are now 0-8 vs the state of Texas this season. (Astros & Rangers)
- The run differencial is now -189.
- Pirates pitchers have served up 94 HR, which is tied with the Phillies for the 2nd most in the NL.
- The Pirates are winless in the 5 games played at Minute Maid Park this season. It is the 20th loss in the last 22 road games.
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Offense this season (shortstop): NL Ranks
AVG- .226 (T-14th), OBP .266 (Last), HR- 4 (T-10th), RBI- 21 (last), Runs- 14 (last)
Today’s Pitching matchup:
Ross Ohlendorf
1-6, 4.39 ERA
Ohly got his 1st win of the season his last outing, shutting down the Phillies for 7 innings. He struck out 8 and showed command of his fastball (which he hasn’t done all season). Ross has 2 career starts at Houston, both loses.
vs.
Roy Oswalt
5-10, 3.32 ERA
In 182 Innings pitched vs the Pirates he is 14-7 with a 2.62 ERA, 145 K’s.
- Yesterday Frank Coonelly Chatted with Pirates fans. Here is the transcript:
Coonelly: Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining me again this month. Let’s get started.
cypro: Mr. Coonelly what do you feel are the biggest challenges facing the Pirates going forward, and how are you planning on addressing these issues in a timely manner?
Coonelly: cypro, we have many challenges facing the organization, but, the biggest challenge by far remains completing the building of a championship team in Pittsburgh. We have made tremendous progress on that front in the last 2 1/2 years but work certainly remains to be done. We are attacking that challenge on a number of different fronts, including our efforts to sign many of the highly talented players who we selected in the 2010 Draft, continuing to develop the young talent working its way to Pittsburgh currently in the system, continuing to identify and sign talented players in the international market and continuing to explore the trade market for opportunities to improve the club. Following this season, we will also explore the Major League free agent market.
3pirates3: What about John Perrotto’s assertion that “if the Pirates worried half as much about winning as public perception then they wouldn’t have to worry about public perception?”
Coonelly: 3pirates3, I didn’t see that line from John but it surprises me if he, in fact, made that statement. John knows that all we worry about here is building a winning organization and every decision that we make is made to that end. In fact, we were criticized by others in the media for calling Pedro Alvarez up when we thought he was ready as a baseball player and did not announce four days before he was being called up that we had decided Pedro was ready to play in Pittsburgh, but we would not call him up for another four days because we wanted an opportunity to sell more tickets to his first game. The press does not always agree with our decisions, and they become particularly disagreeable during a 12- game losing streak, but the fans of the Pirates should know that our decisions are made for baseball reasons and not in an effort to sway public perception.
Bashers: Hi, Mr. Coonelly I am wondering when we are going to get serious about keeping are players in long term? It seems like they turn free agent and we say forget it, trade them and get young players that are not even ready to play.
Coonelly: Bashers, we are serious today about keeping winning players that can help us win championships for the long term. At the appropriate time, we will approach those players currently on the roster that fit that description regarding an opportunity to sign long-term agreements with the club. The part of our plan for success includes such a strategy but we must be selective. Many organizations, in various market categories, have hindered their ability to compete by burdening themselves with poor long-term contracts.
jm_bucsfan: Morton, Hernandez, Locke, Diaz, Strickland, Clement, Pribanic, Lorin, Adcock, Alderson, Harrison… All ‘prospects’ acquired last year, but do you really see anything there? So far, not so much.
Coonelly: jm_bucsfan, I could not disagree with you more that “so far, not much” promise has been shown by the players who you identified. Specifically, Jeff Locke, Josh Harrison, Nate Adcock are having outstanding seasons. Pribanic pitched five shutout innings last night and is starting to show why we were so high on him. Bret Lorin is just returning from a hip injury and remains an exciting player. Gorkys Hernandez has heated up over the last month and was recently named to the World Team in the Futures game. Tim Alderson has had his ups and downs at Altoona but has shown flashes of returning to a top prospect status. Charlie Morton is working his way back in Triple-A and continues to be a pitcher who we believe can be a productive member of our rotation in Pittsburgh. Jeff Clement struggled with the bat at the Major League level but we are not ready to give up on him yet either. If you look at the other side of those trades, you can quickly conclude that serious questions may be asked of our trading partners.
dogsjacob1: Mr. Coonelly, with Octavio Dotel potentially on the trading block, is Evan Meek being groomed to become closer, or will that opportunity be given to Danny Moskos?
Coonelly: Octavio Dotel is not on the trading block. We are fortunate, however, that both Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan have shown the stuff and fortitude to close games. Having options in that area certainly puts us in a position to entertain offers if another club is willing to overpay for one of our players. Danny Moskos has performed extremely well at the back end of the bullpen in Altoona and now at Indianapolis and is again showing the type of stuff to make you believe that he could be a closer one day as well. The talent that we have in this area could help us address needs in other areas.
gjs867: With our core offensive group coming together nicely, do you think we should pursue another power-hitter?
Coonelly: The young players who we have brought up this year are adding athleticism and energy to the club. Pedro Alvarez has added that “power hitter” that we have lacked. We foresee Pedro developing into that dangerous middle of the order bat that all clubs desire. Does that mean that we would not add another power hitter in this offseason, no. In reality, however, power hitters in their prime come at a very steep price either in the trade market or free agent market. Unlike American League teams, we are not in the position to add a pure DH like Vladimir Guerrero who was signed at a reasonable price by Texas during the last offseason.
cyredmond: How are the negotiations coming along with Taillon, Allie, Kingham, Kubitza and some of the other high school draftees and do you anticipate getting the majority of them signed?
Coonelly: cyredmond, we selected many high school players in this year’s Draft. Typically, high school players do not sign as quickly as college players who may have fewer options. We are working hard to sign each of the high school players who you mention as well as the other players we selected in this year’s Draft. We believe that we can sign a large number of these players and did not select any one of them simply as backup plans. Our intention is to add significant talent to the system from this year’s Draft class, a class that favored right-handed high school pitching.
Coonelly: Last question for today…
gjs867: With Justin Wilson, Rudy Owens, and Bryan Morris tearing up AA, is there more of a reason to deal Maholm or Duke?
Coonelly: We are extremely excited about the entire starting rotation in Altoona but you are right that Bryan Morris, Justin Wilson and Rudy Owens, in particular, have been among the most productive starters in Double-A this year. Our optimism that these pitchers as well as other like Michael Crotta at Indy, Charlie Morton (Indy), Kevin Hart (rehabbing), and Tim Alderson and Jared Hughes at Altoona have a chance to be productive Major League pitchers in Pittsburgh does not make it more likely that we will attempt to trade Paul Maholm or Zach Duke. They do, however, give us many legitimate options for the rotation in Pittsburgh in 2011 and beyond.
Coonelly: Thanks again, everyone for joining me. I look forward to talking with you all again next month.
Around the Ballparks:
- Jake Peavy has a detached muscle in his shoulder. He was placed on the 15 day DL.
- Heath Bell replaces Yovani Gallardo (DL) on the NL All-Star Roster.
- Rafael Soriano replaces Mariano Rivera on the AL All-Star Roster.
- The Rockies placed Todd Helton on the 15 day DL with back stiffness.
- The Rays David Price became the 1st 12 game winner last night after sweeping the Red Sox.
- The Braves are the first NL team to 50 Wins.
- Buster Posey last night: 4-4, 6RBI’s, 2HR, 1 grand Slam. Giants beat the Brewers 15-2.
- @FollowthePadres: “Matt Stais, who told me, “Swing like you live–hard” just tied Cliff Johnson for the most PH HR’s in MLB history. (20)
- Adam Dunn hit 3 HR last night. He is the 1st National to do so since Alfonso Soriano on 04/21/2006.
- The Cubs placed RHP Brian Schlitter on the DL with right shoulder impingement and recalled RHP Mitch Atkins from Iowa.
- The Dodgers placed RHP Ronald Belisario on the restricted list due to personal reasons and reinstated RHP Carlos Monasterios.
Kristy Robinson
