WTG Fransico

Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano has been named the recipient of the 2013 National League Comeback Player of the Year award. Liriano, 30, set a career high with 16 wins in his first season with the Pirates as he helped lead the club to the Postseason. His 16 victories tied for third in the league and he fell just one inning shy of qualifying for the NL ERA rankings, where his 3.02 ERA would have placed him 10th. In 2012, Liriano went 6-12 with a 5.34 ERA in 34 total games with the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox. The Comeback Player of the Year Awards are officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball and presented annually to one player in each League who has re-emerged on the field during the season.

Now To beat St. Lousi1

Photo belongs to MLB, not me Hallelujah, the Pirates are now set to play the Cardinals in the real playoffs, not that silly one game against the Reds they had to play yesterday.

LET'S GO BUCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats, Andrew McCutchen

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen put up MVP-caliber numbers offensively this season, but on Tuesday night it was his defensive prowess that earned him his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award. McCutchen made just one error this season and finished second among National League center fielders with a .997 fielding percentage. Only the Cardinals' Jon Jay, who had a perfect percentage -- but played 40 less games than McCutchen -- had a better mark. The Pirates' center fielder edged out two other nominees -- Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs and Atlanta's two-time Gold Glove winner Michael Bourn -- for the honor. The Gold Glove Awards are decided annually by voting among managers and coaches, none of whom can vote for their own players. "Honored to have won the Gold Glove! To be a part of this elite class of defenders means so much to me. Hard work is paying off!" McCutchen tweeted after the awards were announced Tuesday night. With the award, McCutchen becomes the Pirates' seventh Gold Glove outfielder in franchise history and the first since Nate McLouth in 2008. Ya gotta love it...this team is beginning to shape up and, although they faded down the stretch at the end, they were in the stretch at the end! WTG, Pirates! Next year for sure :)

Another Heartbreaker

First a 19 inning game that ends in what appears to be a missed call by the home plate umpire.
Today another extra inning game with the Braves that did not go in the Pirates favor. The players must be very frustrated at this point. One can only hope they let it go tomorrow.
One thing I have always like about the Angels manager is that he tells the players to take things one game at a time, not to think back on what could have been but focus on today, right now. I hope that Mr. Hurdle is of the same mind and tells the Buc players exactly that.
Move onward...keep chasing that division title...

Nineteen

It was a very, very long game. Nineteen innings of well played baseball on the part of both teams. Unfortunately the Braves beat the Pirates.
Even though they lost this game, it does show the fans and, hopefully, the front office that this Pirate team is working and working well.
They didn't give up, fighting the Braves over and over with great pitching and defense. This is the mentality you want a winning baseball team to have. Go out, play as hard as you can and hope you come out ahead!
After all those hours of baseball I sure am glad to know that tomorrow's game (today actually now) is not a day game. Both these teams need some rest!

Buyers

For the first time in more years than I care to think about, the Pittsburgh Pirates hit the trading season differently.
It has been way too many years of "who can we trade?" and watching some of the best players go to other teams so that other teams may win their divisions.
This year the Pirates are not looking to sell, they are looking to buy! They sit, halfway through the season, tied for first place. They are facing tough teams like the Cardinals and the Braves and are holding their own.
Is this the year of the Buccos?

I believe...
I believe...

I BELIEVE!!!

Hot

It is incredibly hot here in the desert, normal for the summertime. I don't object to the heat so much as I do the awful cooling off in the evenings.
It used to be, many, many years ago, that the desert would be blazing hot during the day and then after the sun went down would just be hot. We could have 115 during the day and be thankful when, at midnight, it was in the 80's.
Now that the place has grown and buildings and houses have replaced so much of the actual desert, it cools off in the evenings to the point where it actually feels cold. Ugh. My body does not like such drastic temperature changes.


One very nice thing to note about hot tho... my team, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place in their division! Whoo-hoo!!! Now all they gotta do is keep staying hot, win the games they need to win and stay in contention.
The other thing the team really needs to do is survive this month. It is July, trading time for baseball and the silly people in the Pirates front office often make trades that they claim are good for the team and usually are not. I am hopeful that, being in first place will convince the front office folks to stay out of the trading market this year. For once in their miserable baseball lives they need to give the kids a chance to prove themselves. The team has come together, the team is winning, the team needs to stay exactly as it is!

All Star Game

I did not get to watch the All Star Game this year because I have no cable. But, thanks to ESPN Radio online I was able to listen.
It was a very good game, I thought. Maybe more than good since the National League won! My favorite team is in the NL so I have always rooted for them.
I was a little disappointed in Andrew McCutchen's at bat. A power hitter like him and he hits it back to the pitcher? Poor man. I'm sure it was simply nervousness, first time as an All-Star and all. But, I am also certain it will not be his last All Star game.
My team has done very well this year, finishing the first half of the season only one game out of first place and with a winning record. Whoo-hoo! Could this be the season the Bic's finally put it all together and make the playoffs? Fans are hoping. The nicest thing I have seen about this season is not only the players that are getting it done, but also the fans.
Living in California about the only time I get to see anything about Pittsburgh is when they play the Dodgers. So normally I am looking at video clips online and I see the stands are fairly empty which saddens me. This year however when I look at clips I see the stands are very full of fans and this makes me joyful.
Love them or hate them your team needs to be supported. More so for the Pirates I think because they are what MLB considers a small market. Too bad Pittsburgh citizens do not support baseball the same way they support football and hockey.
Maybe this is the Pirate's year! I am praying the front office folks do not start trading players away like every other year. How the heck you gonna win a playoff berth that way? Pay attention Pirates owners. Your stands are filling up again. Don't screw it up by trading away pieces of a team that may have finally solved your puzzle!

Great Start

I know it's only the first game of the season, but, wow, what a start! After a mediocre Spring Training season, the Pirates came out swinging.
The final result was the Dodgers scored five runs. Not all that good for the pitching staff, but it was okay. The Dodgers pitchers were worse as the Pirates scored Eleven to more than beat up on the Dodgers!
I do hope this is a great sign for my team :)
LET'S GO BUCS!!!

Almost time

Just another day or two and the regular baseball season will have started. I'm excited! I love watching baseball and I enjoy reading about the players.
I am looking forward to the new season and seeing if my poor team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, can finally have a winning season and stop the losing streak! Hopefully the management will not mess around this year but I'm sure that is just wishful thinking on my part.
They put all the pieces together then try their best to re-arrange the puzzle and end up wondering why it didn't work. One day, fans hope and pray, they'll figure it all out. When something works, why fix it? Baseball is sometimes like software, people always feel the need to tweak it. Wish they'd leave things be.
I hope the players will simply go out on the field and have fun. This is what they have been dreaming of doing since they were kids in Little League. They need to realize that they are as good as anyone else on any other team. They also need to realize that they have no pressure whatsoever. None of the so called experts expect the Pirates to do anything this year, or any year actually, so why stress out? Take the field and have fun. Just relax and play your position to the best of your abilities.
The bottom line, for me, is that no matter what happens, win or lose, brilliant or suck big time, you still will be my favorite baseball team. Even though I have spent most of my life living in Dodgers territory, I have always been and will always be a Pirates fan.
So, as the new season gets ready to start I say... LET'S GO BUCS!!!!

A Record Broken, Sadly

Records are made to be broken, they always have been. I was happy when Babe Ruth's home run record was broken because I admired Hank Aaron. I was somewhat happy when Lou Gehrig's record was broken because I admired Cal Ripken Jr. But, the record I shall report about today does not make me happy. It makes me sad, very, very sad.


By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- On pure observation, the Pirates' 4-2 loss to the Cubs at PNC Park on Monday ended like any other. The team filed out of the dugout and into a quiet clubhouse. No music blared inside.

Sure, the sting from not being able to sustain any momentum from a thrilling walk-off win on Sunday was there. And certainly the mounting frustration of having lost 10 of the last 11 games didn't help the mood. But on the surface, it was essentially just another loss.

From a historical sense, however, this one was vastly different.

Perhaps fitting that it would come on an overcast day and under an ominous sky, Monday's Labor Day defeat sealed another losing season in Pittsburgh. And this one, the franchise's 17th in a row, permanently stamped the Pirates as the only North American professional sports franchise to ever endure that many consecutive losing years.

"None of the guys on this team were here for any of the majority of that. It's just the label we've been given," third baseman Andy LaRoche said. "But it's up to us to apologize to the fans because we're the team that actually broke the record."

LaRoche said that it wasn't until Sunday he realized that the club sat one loss away from such a distinction. That absence of awareness seemed to be the norm. Yes, most players knew that such a streak existed, but it had been anything but a common subject in the clubhouse.
"It's frustrating," said Brandon Moss. "But how many of these players have been here more than three years? We don't think about it."

To answer Moss' question, the answer is four. Only Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, Ryan Doumit and Matt Capps started the 2007 season with the Pirates.

"We in the front office own the 17-year losing streak. We are a part of it," general manager Neal Huntington said. "These players, their job is to get better on a nightly basis and to consistently win games. Their job isn't to worry about how we've lost for so many years."

The 16-year losing streak the Pirates had entered the 2009 season with matched that of the 1933-48 Phillies.

"Our great fans deserve to be able to passionately support a winner again," said Pirates president Frank Coonelly. "The fact that they have supported us so well through these last 17 years intensifies our commitment to provide them with that opportunity and to do so as quickly as possible."

It will be Pirates starter Daniel McCutchen who finds his name attached to this historic loss, despite the fact that McCutchen has thrown just 205 pitches in his brief one-week Pirates career. He picked up the loss on Monday in what was his first professional decision.

He admitted afterward that he didn't know this potentially historic day actually fell on Monday until just before he took the mound. And if only it hadn't been for Chicago's Derrek Lee.

The Cubs first baseman saw two pitches from the rookie September callup and sent both over the wall. The first, a fastball, was crushed into the shrubbery out in center for a solo shot. The second, a changeup, was lined just to the inside of the left-field foul pole and into the first row for a two-run blast. The combination of homers gave the Cubs the early 3-0 lead.

"Both of them weren't located where I wanted to pitch them," McCutchen said. "A guy like that, he's the don't-let-him-beat-me guy in the lineup."

To his credit, McCutchen battled and kept Chicago from widening its lead any further. Making his first start at PNC Park, he followed up his six-inning debut with a seven-inning effort against the Cubs. He was charged with four runs on nine hits, but also struck out five.

The only problem was that an offense so enthused one day earlier had little answer against Cubs starter Ted Lilly. Moss' one-out double in the fifth pulled the Pirates to within two of Chicago's lead. LaRoche had taken Lilly deep with his own first-pitch homer back in the third.

"I noticed he was just trying to get me with fastballs to get ahead," said LaRoche, who now has eight homers this year. "I was sitting on something middle in and happened to get it. It felt good to square something up."

Those two hits would be it for Pittsburgh, as three Cubs relievers, including former Pirates pitcher John Grabow, followed Lilly's six-inning start with a perfect inning each. Grabow, along with lefty Tom Gorzelanny and third baseman Aramis Ramirez, had an unusual vantage point for Monday's record-setting defeat as all took paths through Pittsburgh before joining the Cubs.

"If you play for them, you feel sorry for them," said Ramirez, who played in Pittsburgh from 1998 until 2003, when a Trade Deadline deal sent him away. "Since I've been here [with the Cubs], we've been in the playoffs three times, and that's fun. They make you play for something. When you're never in the race -- you're going to have years when you're going to struggle, everybody goes through that -- but 17 years in a row is a long time."

Considering the Cubs hold arguably baseball's most recognized run of futility with a 100-year World Series drought, perhaps there's some irony that the Pirates hit loss No. 82 against the Cubs.

"Teams try, nobody wants to lose," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "I'm sure [the Pirates] in the near future will start winning with more regularity. It'd be great for the National League and it'd be great for the fans here. They have a lot of history here and they've had success in the past to draw on."

That was precisely manager John Russell's message afterward.
"We can't erase it," Russell said of the streak. "We can't say it didn't happen. It did. But our job is to continue to play baseball and to continue to grow for the future."

4 Out Of 9?

Of the 9 position players that started the season, we have 4. And they wonder why they don't have winning seasons? get a grip,management, get a grip :(

Typical, Sadly

The trading season is over and, as usual, my Pirates have traded like there is no tomorrow :(
I can only hope and pray that I live long enough to see this "future" that management has been building towards for the past 17 years LOL

Good-Bye, Jack

This morning's news was not pleasant. Jack Wilson has been traded to the Seattle Mariners. We got four minor leaguers and one veteran shortstop to replace him. Whoopee! Why change one shortstop for another? Makes so little sense to me.
Seattle also got Ian Snell, a halfway decent pitcher who was not happy in Pittsburgh and preferred to play in Triple A than in the major leagues. I wish Seattle lots of luck with this guy LOL
So, now that Jack is gone, I suppose it's only a matter of time before his best friend Freddy Sanchez is also dealt away :(
I know the season is barely a little more than half over but it is time for all Pirates fans to say what we always seem to be saying...
Oh well, there's always next year!

Stupid management. When will they pull their heads out of their rear ends? WHEN???

I hate this time of year

It is baseball trading season and I really do hate it. Every day I go, with trepidation, to the MLB website. Every day I hope that I will not find stupid news about how my favorite team has traded away another good player for some minor league players as we "build for the future".
Who cares about the future? I want a team that can stay together for an entire season and do their darndest to win their division! I want things NOW, not next year or five years down the road. NOW! *sigh*
Being a baseball fan can be tough when you have idiots in the front office that have been building for the future for the past 17 years and still haven't gotten it right :(

Another Slam?

When you are a Pirates fan, you really need to have tough skin. Seems like the Pittsburgh Pirates are always the team to talk trash about. I reported a while ago about ESPN's coverage of things and they seem more than willing to continue their ways.
Today, while watching a show about the All Star baseball game, they were discussing the pros and cons of having the winner of this exhibition game get home field advantage for the World Series. One of the experts said that he wondered if a player like Freddie Sanchez of the Pirates was going to be in the dugout all excited about the National League winning so that they could have home field advantage.
Excuse me? Are you snidly implying that the Pirates are out of the race with half a season to go? True, we are in last place. True, we are 9 games behind the first place team. But, stranger things have happened in baseball. The Pirates could go on a winning streak and have a shot at the playoffs. Don't count out a team halfway through the season, unless, of course, you are the idiots in the front office who are busy thinking of who to trade away so that, at the end of the year they can wonder why we didn't do well but we sure are building "towards a brighter future".
Give me a break. If you must have maligned a team, why not the Washington Nationals, the worst team in both leagues!

It's Tough To Be A Fan

yesterday, my favorite baseball team started their usual trading season. They traded away good players for minor leaguers that will, supposedly, help the Pirates in the future. That's the Pirate management yearly theme, building for the future.
The Pirates are in last place in their division, a whopping five games out of first place. Most teams wouldn't consider things all that bad, it's only five games. But the Pirates see it as the season is over, time to start the trading and building for "the future". I wish those foolish people that make these decisions would realize just how damned tired the fans are of hearing this BS about the future, a future that the fans see as never coming.
The season isn't even half over and already the front office has given up on the team and, worse, the fans. And yet they will continue to scratch their collective heads and wonder why the revenues are down at the end of the year.
Just once I wish someone in the front office would have the balls to tell other teams to take a hike, yes we are in last place but we're only five games back and we can still make a run for it so take your offer of minor league players and put it where the sun doesn't shine.
It's nice to have a dream, since I realize fully that as long as these people think baseball is purely a business and nothing else, this person with balls will never show up.
It's tough to be a fan, especially if you are a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.

Wanna Buy A Duck?

Here is the reasoning of the Pirates GM on the recent trade:
June 6, 2009

Dear Pirates Fan,

On the heels of this Wednesday's trade with the Atlanta Braves, I felt it was important that you hear directly from me as to why this move brings us closer to our goal of building a consistent championship organization and providing you a team of which you will be proud.
Neal Huntington

Obviously this was a very difficult decision as Nate is a quality player and person. We knew this move was not going to be popular in the clubhouse with our players or among our fan base who have suffered through a long stretch of losing seasons. Despite recognizing the probable unpopularity of this trade, we believed it to be the right step for our organization and made a sound baseball decision.

The quality and quantity of the players we received in this trade was the crucial component to this trade. We are excited about the three young players we received. We have been interested in and closely monitored all three of these players for some time as they are highly regarded by us and by most within the industry.

Charlie Morton is a power right-handed starting pitcher with upside, who should be ready to help us this year in Pittsburgh. In fact, in his first outing for our Triple-A affiliate, he tossed seven scoreless innings, giving up only four hits while striking out seven. Jeff Locke is an intriguing young left handed starter with the frame, athleticism and stuff to become a quality major league starting pitcher. Gorkys Hernandez is a dynamic athlete who has the speed and potential to become an above average everyday major league outfielder. It is worth noting that these three players were rumored to be sought by the Padres when they were talking to the Braves about trading former Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy.

Additionally, Andrew McCutchen has proven that he is ready to take the next step and begin his career at the Major League level. Andrew has done what we have asked of him in Triple-A and showed he was ready for the challenges of the Major League level. Andrew is an intelligent, hard working player that has shown the present ability to play impact defense in centerfield. While we do not expect Andrew to replace Nate's power production immediately, Andrew is an exciting top-of-the-order player who proved this spring that he can be an exciting part of a productive offense.

Ultimately, to become a championship team we need more championship caliber players at all levels. As difficult as these types of trades are to make, they are an important part of the talent acquisition and development process that will position us to be a consistent championship caliber organization sooner rather than later.

I understand why some people at first glance may believe this move was financially motivated, but I can assure you that this was strictly a baseball decision. In fact, our owner Bob Nutting was as surprised as some of our fans when we sought his approval for this trade. I am grateful that he has the faith in me, our baseball operations staff and the processes we have in place to approve a move like this, despite the risk of public backlash on him personally and the organization as a whole. Furthermore, I am appreciative that he continues to provide us with the resources necessary to build a championship caliber organization. Whether we sought to build our new facilities in Bradenton and the Dominican Republic, sign our young major league players to long-term deals, triple our amateur signing bonus budget in order to be aggressive in acquiring talent both domestically and internationally or significantly increase our scouting and development budgets, Bob was willing to provide the resources necessary to make these fundamental changes.

We have said several times that tough decisions will need to be made as we build and sustain a championship caliber organization. The decision to trade Nate was perhaps the most difficult one both personally and professionally that we have made to date. Tough decisions are not always popular. However, we have a singular focus on our goal of building an organization that can consistently compete for championships, not simply finish above .500. The organizational talent level has been vastly improved during the past two years and, as a result, we are a much stronger organization and closer to our ultimate goal.

Your understanding of the situation is greatly appreciated by all of us in the organization. Your passion for this team is the driving force behind our motivation to bring winning baseball back to you, the fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sincerely,

Neal Huntington
Senior Vice President and General Manager
Pittsburgh Pirates

Screwed the fans again, did ya?

Pirates trade McLouth to Braves
Deal for center fielder nets three players for Pittsburgh
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com

06/03/09 7:31 PM ET

PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates have traded center fielder Nate McLouth to the Braves in exchange for three players -- outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, left-hander Jeff Locke and right-hander Charlie Morton.

McLouth left PNC Park earlier in the evening after the Pirates' game was postponed due to rain.

The trade sends two of Atlanta's top eight prospects, as ranked by Baseball America, to the Pirates. Hernandez, a center fielder with the Braves' Double-A affiliate, was ranked No. 4 heading into the season. Hernandez has hit .316 through his first 52 games this season.

Locke, Atlanta's seventh-best prospect, was a second-round Draft pick in 2006 and has pitched for the Braves' high Class A affiliate this season. He is 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA in 10 starts.

Morton, who went 4-8 with a 6.15 ERA in 15 starts (16 appearances) for the Braves last season, was 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA at Triple-A Gwinnett this season.

McLouth, a first-time All-Star in 2008, was in his second season as the Pirates' everyday center fielder. He had signed a multi-year contract with the Pirates this offseason.

The trade clears the way for the promotion of center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who is batting .303 with four home runs and 20 RBIs at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
MLB.com Comments


Ya know, it can really difficult at times to be a Pirates fan. I wish they'd hire someone for the front office that really gave a damn about THIS season, you know the one we are playing now? The one where, if we have a losing season we'll set the record for the most losing seasons in a row? I wonder how these folks sleep at night, knowing how they consistently screw things up? Maybe it would be better if the people in charge knew absolutely nothing about baseball or sports, then when they made bonehead moves like this one it would make sense. THIS SUCKS BIG TIME!!!!!

How Odd

This year I subscribed to MLB's Gameday audio so that I can listen to my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, play baseball. It didn't cost that much compared to their Gameday where you can actually see the game instead of just listening.Since I am poor, I went the cheap route LOL
Here's the odd part. I'm looking at the window while listening to a game and down at the corner there's this small box that says Highlights. I clicked on it thinking that I would hear a replay of some great part of the game. Wrong! It isn't an audio replay it's the video! How cool is that? I saved a lot of money by choosing to listen to the games and can still watch the highlights!
Instead of looking cheap and poor, I'd say I now look like a pretty smart shopper :)