Gallardo bests Pirates with arm, bat

a one man wrecking crew

As April ends time for look at the predictions after one month

Pirates are 11-10 after 21 games.  If they play at the same pct the rest of the season they will be at 84 or 85 wins.  They have 15 HR which would put them at 116.

To refresh your memory, here are the predictions

First Annual PBC Blog Pirate Season Record Contest Update:

---------------------------------------------------------------------

LosingStopsHere..100-61 / 164 HR’s

Bucco...............99-62 / 173 HR's

POH..................96-66 / 173 HR's (Proxy vote by Sir L)

SlackBoss………91-71/ 161 HR’s

DMAC................90-72 / 150 HR's

Impliedi………..89-73 /  178 HR’s

BofRedus………88-74 / 185 HR’s

Menkrick……….88-74 / 163 HR’s

BucFanCT………88-74 /  158 HR’s

Sit Lochsby……...87-75 / 162 HR’s

Bjohnson921……87-75 / 144 HR’s

Gio Marsico……..86-76 / 177 HR’s

Groat2Maz.........86-76 / 166 HR's

WhyStanBelinda..86-76 /  156 HR’s

Baywatch...........86-76 / 144 HR's

WabbitSeason….86-76 / 130 HR’s

BillyKidd………..86-76 / 127 HR’s  (submitted by e-mail to JAL)

66 @ Lincoln…….86-76 /127 HR’s

Afail……………...85-77 / 177 HR’s

Heyfred………...85-77 / 172 HR’s

SRQBURGH…..85-77 /  160 HR’s

Diehard..............85-77 / 150 HR's

Luckydog……...85-77/ 131 HR’s

BleedB&G……..85-76 / 146 HR’s

Arriba Wilver......84-78 /  140 HR's

Jersey Joe………84-78 / 139 HR’s

Pirata 13..............84-78 / 138  HR’s

Wagnalls………..84-78 / 124 HR’s

Bloomsday……..83-79 / 175 HR’s

BigPoppaPump...83-79 / 163 HR's

PapaCoach........83-79 / 151 HR's

Pirate Radio…....83-79 / 150 HR’s

MBT…………   83-79/ 149 HR’s

Uncle Dude........83-79 / 147 HR's

Roschke………..83-79 / 143 HR’s

Bugonrug………83-79/ 141 HR’s

Ttoy44………….83-79/ 137 HR’s

Maximus……….83-79 / 129 HR’s’

JBurns………….83-80 / 154 HR’s

Gamer 45………82-79 /200 HR’s

Teddykinz..........82-80 / 166 HR's

TripleG................82-80 / 145 HR's

AusPirate………82-80 / 142 HR’s

PghFanin NH......82-80 / 141 HR's

Bob in FranklinPark..82-80 / 141 HR’s

Pig Legs Robinson…82-80 / 123 HR’s

JHadar.................81-80 / 165 HR's

Pi-Rat……….81-81 / 166 HR’s

Pirates018..........81-81 / 145 HR's

Larry Z...............81-81 / 136 HR's

Geowes………...81-81 / 130 HR’s

JaxBuc………….80-81 / 144 HR’s

JosePagan..........80-82 / 168 HR's

damikmikjeal….80-82 / 160 HR’s

LV Pirate Fan….80-82 / 150 HR’s

DingerBucFan.....80-82 / 145 HR's

jbrindger………...80-82 / 140 HR’s

ForbesFieldMem..80-82 / 137 HR's

Pirate Sun………..80-82 / 135 HR’s

IdahoBucFan…….80-82 / 132 HR’s

ABQ Bucco…80-82  /  130 HR’s

Popsfan………….80-82 / 123 HR’s

Baywatch Jr……..80-82 / 119 HR’s

ForbesFielderProdigy.. 79-83 / 150 HR’s

Manny Sanguine……..79-83 / 145HR’s

CAPN.................79-83 / 134 HR's

BucFan54............78-84 / 155 HR's

PI Stingray...........78-84 / 144 HR's

JL........................ 78-84 / 140 HR's

Indianafanatic......78-84 / 139 HR's

Kragbax...............78-84 / 137 HR's

Longliv3riv………78-84 / 130 HR’s

AlaskBucFan………78-84 / 127 HR’s

WalkyTalky………78-84 / 125 HR’s

CandleArea……..78-84 /  108 HR’s

CecilioGuante21…77-85 / 159 HR’s

Gregenstein………..77-85 / 155 HR’s

UglyKen...............77-85 / 147 HR's

KMRempel............77-85 / 141 HR's

Cullen H………….77-85 / 134 HR’s

Pipecock………….77-85 / 127 HR’s

Egscoach…………77-85 / 122 HR’s

Game 5…………...76-86 / 144 HR’s

Wozzle…………76-86 / 144 HR’s

Yak……………….76-86 / 136 HR’s

BuccoFanforLife…76-86 / 135 HR’s

KooperKid………76-86  / 133 HR’s

NAJE…………….76-86  / 130 HR’s

Ya'Zhynka………75-87 / 166 HR’s

JAL......................75-87 / 162 HR's

Radio Wave……..75-87 / 145 HR’s

Brakeman 8……...75-87 / 144 HR’s

Bizrow…………...75-87 / 136 HR’s

Marty 34156…….75-87 / 135 HR’s

IowaBuc…………75-87 / 132 HR’s

Drew Jr………….75-87 /130 HR’s

G-man..................75-87 / 128 HR's

SavingFace……  75-85 / 142 HR’s

BondsGoat............74-88 / 147 HR's

Shane..................74-88 / 137 HRs

CubReporter.........74-88 / 133 HR's

Duke 84………….74-88 / 128 HR’s

Ndbrian…………..74-88 / 126 HR’s

BayareaBuc..........73-89 / 147 HR's

Emoneypitt...........73-89 / 145 HR's

Drew.....................73-89 / 130 HR's

Juan Pizarro……..73-89 / 129 HR’s

GortRobot………73-89 /  124 HR’s

VT Pirate fan……73-89 / 123 HR’s

Jeffbwi…………..72-90 / 140 HR’s

Iratefan................72-90 / 137 HR's

The Wheelhouse…72-90 / 134 HR’s

BuccoFanWI……72-90 / 128 HR’s

DFlash…………..72-90 / 125 HR’s

Cocktailsfor2…….72-90 / 120 HR’s

A-Ron..................71-91 / 146 HR's

GetYoungTalent...71-91 / 138 HR’s

AllSmilesRanda…71-91 /  137 HR’s

CincyBucco…….70-92 /  171 HR’s

Bringbackbonds....70-92 / 144 HR's

Dan W...................70-92 / 136 HR's

JoeyBats..............70-92 / 135 HR's

Mrs Drew………..70-92 / 120 HR’s

Mendoza Line……70-92 / 99 HR’s

DrewRit21.............70-91 / 119 HR's

BuccoBlues..........69-93 / 131 HR's

Nitro.......................69-93 / 122 HR's

TBD1977………..69-93 /121 HR’s

Hammar………….68-93 / 128 HR’s

Rumbunter……….68-94/ 129 HR’s

Iceman…………..68-94 / 125 HR’s

LeeFoo…………..68-94 / 120HR’s

Stillsmack………..67-95/ 150 HR’s

PDXPirate.............67-95 / 133 HR's

MD3……………..67-95 / 121 HR’s

Dejan K………….67-95

DHARR18……...66-95 / 142 HR’s

Junior Ortiz……...66-96 / 125 HR’s

Demery………….66-96 / 119 HR’s

UtesFan89……….65-97 / 165 HR’s

RichieHP………...65-97 / 148 HR’s

WietersforPres…..65-97 / 133 HR’s

Cave Bonifield......65-97 / 127 HR's

Disgruntled Goat...65-97 / 121 HR's

Frustrated 314……65-97 / 121 HR’s

The Deacon………64-98 / 149 HR’s

Nutting Hostage….64-98 / 131 HR’s

21sthebest..............64-98 / 121 HR's

Yotum...................63-99 / 132 HR's

AmarilloFats.........62-99 / 126 HR's

Jack Sparrow……..63-99/ 122 HR’s

Happyhower……..61-99 / 142 HR’s

STLRFANRC........61-101 / 120 HR's

Cisco Kid…………61-101 / 93 HR’s

Thunder................60-102 / 140 HR's

JuniataKid............60-102 / 139 HR's

Allarmy…………59-103 / 129 HR’s

Bizrow’s Son……58-103 / 123 HR’s

PATM…………...54-107 / 31 HR’s

JayPo……………50-112 /  100 HR’s

Andy Van Slice....10-152 / 3 HR's

Wait our next games May 1st right?

That means we can bring up Andrew McCutchen...FINALLY. Sorry Moss, you will be watching him from the bench, you have played your way out of the lineup once he comes up.

Ian Snell = Jose Deleon, cira 1985?

Gotta give him some credit, but giving up the Bomb to the pitcher is tough to stomach.  

Who's on deck for Friday?

Is it my imagination, or are our pitchers - minus Karstens hitting Braun about 8 inches too low - not throwing inside as much without Doumit?

bucCT

No, the season started late due to international WS so he can't be brought up until May 7 or 8 if they dot want the clock to start ticking on his 6 years.

diehard

Don't know about that but Braun did not do anything today--3 k's and a groundout.

JAL,

Great job with the monthly update.

That puts "BleedB&G" in the lead for now.....

Ah crap, I was getting really excited for a while. He deserves to be brought up as soon as he can w/o his clock starting to tick because i think hes accomplished what they wanted of him, and IMO he would be a huge upgrade from Morgan/Moss, depending on who they take out.

Overall I have to give this team high grades for being as competitive against the Brewers as they were.

Sure we lost all 3, but we easily could have won them all .

We are playing with 3 of our 8 starters unavailable and we still took the Brews to the limit.

Our reserves were able to make some good contributions over the course of the series.

April is for evaluation, May is for adjustments.

The bullpen needs to be bolstered.

As far as high pitch counts go.  What is wrong with them.  As long as pitchers are use to throwing 125 pitches a game, let them do it.  

When did 110 pitches become the magic number anyhow?  

Time to toughen these guys up and let them throw.

With our bullpen, we should pray for 125 pitch starts.

WSB

Next series is Duke, Ohlendorf, Karstens against Arroyo, Owings, and Cuteo

DMAC, glad i could help

Why Stan,

IMO DeLeon had better stuff.

Hostage'

thanks--it doesn't work out perfectly--they could be at 84 or 85 wins at this pace so hard to say --the leader could be Wagnalls at 84-78 with 124 HRs , Luckydog at 85-77 and 131 Hr or Bleed B and G

Mac

Good job with game reporting--thanks

NutHos- Hopefully the Pirates can trade Snell for the next Bobby Bonilla.  As good as Syd Thrift was at rebuilding the Pirates, he couldn't get that exceptional closer that no championship team can be without (post-1977).

Mac well done also.  I've tried it and its not easy.

July 2, 1963--Braves vs giants--warren Spahn 201 pitches in 15 innings and Juan Marichal 227 pitches in a 16 inning complete game 1-0 win.

JAL,

Here is my methodology for determing the current leader:

1. 11-10 = .523 winning percentage

2. .523 x 162 game schedule = 85-77 record (Round up).

3. Closest tie breaker prediction

Thus....oh wait, BleedB&G predicted 161 games.

OK, using the methodology detailed above, I now say the current leader is Luckydog. - Ironically enough.

JAL

And that was in the days of 4 man rotations.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the pendulum swing back to the high pitch counts of 150 or so.

It would eliminate a need for 12 in the pen.  

Instead of babying their pitch counts in the minors, maybe the Bucs could lead the trend into letting their pitchers get use to high counts before they get to Pitt.

Thanks guys, i think i would have done better but {Parkinsons} makes things challenging.

I think if there is a "trend" to be noted in the pitch count, it's that JR is willing to let a guy throw more pitches when there's a day off in between now and his next start, so they've got the extra day of rest and recovery in there.  Time will tell how that plays out.

Very bummed out, Moss in the 3 hole is just puzzling, then again MONROE can only hit  a fastball, nothing offspeed, After thinking about the 21 games , I will take 11-10..We should have won all 3 games or should I say were in all 3, so moving forward we can still make some noise...Later

Why Stan,

Too bad the previous Bucco GM gambled and lost both Bonilla and Bip Roberts in the Rule 5 draft forcing Thrift to trade DeLeon to reacquire Bonilla.

Bip Roberts would have made an excellent leadoff hitter for those division winning clubs in the early 90's.....

FYI...if anyone's interested...the catcher, Rivera...the one Bix ran into at the plate last night...was placed on the DL today with a sprained ankle.  

Cave...there were TWO pitchers all season last year throw more than 130 pitches in a game...Tim Lincecum and Ricky Nolasco. In over 2400 major league games last year...there were 32 games (less than 1%) where pitchers threw 122 or more pitches.

Baseball Prospectus has been carrying a stat called "Pitcher Abuse Points" for the last 10 years. You don't start accumulating abuse points until your 101st pitch. Current formula has been used since 2001. Basically, it's (number of pitches - 100) cubed.

www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php

Let me put it this way...Ian throwing 131 pitches today...gives him enough Pitcher Abuse Points to rank 30th in the majors last season...for the ENTIRE season.

Look on the bright side: Duffy got his one hit, as DMac wished :-)

Thunder,

Does Baseball Prospectus track NAP (Nutting Abuse Points) for every time I rip on Bob Nutting?

If not, they should.

JAL...you mention the Spahn-Marichal game in 63. Note that with all the innings that were pitched...both pitchers were only throwing about 14 pitches or so an inning...not 20 to 25 like Paul and Ian have done the last 2 games. And they were used to throwing a lot of pitches. Ian and Paul aren't. For their careers...Ian, Paul, Gorzo and Duke all average between 93 and 97 pitches per start for their careers.

Certainly, the pitch counts for the last 2 games, Paul and Ian, are much above what they are accustomed to.

Thanks, Bay!  And he didn't score on that OR the walk he drew in the 1st inning!  

(Whoever referenced those hitting below the Mendoza line should note this is only Duffy's 2nd start.  :-)  )

And we didn't get No-no'd!  That's always a good thing.  

NuttingHostage...first...we have to establish an average level of ripping...before we can start calculating abuse points ;)

WhyStan--Gott was great in 1988, but there sure wasn't one 1990-1992.  I think Syd was gone by then, though.

NuHo

You don't want Baseball Prospectus cubing that number.

Arriba- thanks for the Gott reminder.  I remembered being really upset that he couldn't come back.  

I think Redus did a good job as a leadoff hitter, but good lord Bip Roberts was fun.  I tried to model my game after his in High school.  

This weekends series vs Reds will be the biggest series of the season thus far for this team because this team needs to come out and show they are different then Buccos of years past. Also they need to shwo that the culture has changed and if it truely has then getting sweept like this won't phase them and they'll come out and at least take 2 of 3 from Reds. Also i think my biggest fear may be coming true, the first time all year we play one of the top teams in the league we getted sweept.

Off to some pizza wars ... Y'all go ahead and start freshenin' up for Friday and the Reds ... we'll be ready for the contenders next time. You know, I shoulda been a contendah!

@ marty

I think the brewers are better than average, but worse than they were last year (obviously for loss of ben sheets and cc)... i also believe they aren't in a position to make a cc type trade this year... last year was their year.  they are not one of the top teams in the league... primarily because i don't believe they have built a sustainably winning system that our FO is trying to do at whatever pace.  this year they are not going to make the playoffs, even if they sweep us season long series...   they really attribute their playoff appearance to their dominance over us last year.

how many years will braun stay in milwaukee? i'm hoping him to leave the division sooner primarily because he is an annoying whiner and for his "the world owes me a living" attitude.

Bucs don't have to go back to Milwaukee till the last weekend in August, that gives us plenty of time to do some damage.

I've not thought about the prospects of McCutchen coming up at all this year but with how bad Moss has been, I can't help but think that maybe that's on the brass' mind for early May.

C'mon

I do agree their not as good as last year, obviously, but i do think their still one of the 5 or 6 best teams in the N.L.

Marty

That is faint praise--the NL not loaded with good teams.  :)

tough, tough loss. but all teams go thru losing streaks, and the good ones make their adjustments and move forward. let"s see how this team bounces back.

and I just read thru the game thread - seems like some of our old naysayer friends crawled out of the black hole they were hiding in during the win streak. My take on that? if someone told you that the Bucs would be 11-10 on May 1, 2009, would you have taken it?? i think i would vote yes.

Now, let's see how they fare on this homestand.

this may make you feel better:

and yes I know it's early in the season so this is "just for fun", but mlb traderumors profiles how some of the high-priced FA's are faring

the link: www.mlbtraderumors.com/.../free-agents-off-on-the-wrong-foot.html

Juan

FA's are often a gamble.  As for the naysayers--yes, they only come out after losses.

Some the FA's will be back to normal as the season goes on but a few will be busts--always a couple who do pan out.

I wouldn't get too upset over "pitch counts." Ian was actually getting better as the game goes on, if we look at how his strike-to-ball ration picked up rather smartly at the end. Plus, Ian is a very durable athelete. Offhand, I can't recall him having ever been seriously injured. If JR and Kerrigan were confident Ian was not fatigued, that's good enough.

Furthermore, fans here are putting far too much credence into "pitch count" and their knowledge of what it's all about. This school of thought that "pitcher abuse" starts with the 101 pitch is a new-fangled notion. It doesn't take into account numerous things, like: the number of "high-stress" pitches thrown, the durability of the individual, or how much fatigue has set in on any given day. Not only did pitchers throw far longer into games until the '70's, and only have three days off between outings until roughly the same time, but in Asia, the philosophy reamains old school to this day. In Japan, pitchers routinely will throw up to 150 pitches a game. Plus, their teams practice year round. Arms don't get any down time at all, over there. They believe in conditioning arms by constantly training them. In Latin America, I don't know about pitch counts, but many Latin pitches also pitch year round. Salomon Torres could probably have pitched a 150 pitch game with just a little bit of stretching out, and then be ready to go in the bullpen within a day or two.

That the Pirates organization has strict pitch count rules for the younger arms in the minor leagues, is perhaps a good idea. I don't know. But applying those developmental rules to the major leaguers would be silly. Let JR and Kerrigan, who are right there, make these pitch count decisions.

                              SNELL WAS SWELL

Though nobody noticed, the pirate ship in my avatar has been "righted" for a little while. And it will finish out April on an even keel. Ahoy there, May!

I just noticed my post to change my homerund must ahve been one of that disappear.  I changed it to 137 to be one below Pirata 13.  Go girl you lucky thing a ma gig.

Ill buy your next gathering if you will trade homerun totals?

Jl- some of us realized it, just didn't want to jinx it :)

Yes, JJ. "Snell was swell," indeed!

In fact, a lot questions were answered about Ian, today. When the chips were down and we needed guys to step up and try and salvage at least one game in this series, only Ian stood out as doing his job. Everybody else went out with a whimper. Some people around here read somewhere that Ian is "immature" or a "punk", so the rest of us now have to read stupid posts that simply repeat this third-hand crap, ad nauseum. Ian has pitched well, this season. He found a way to shut down the powerful Brew Crew, even if it wasn't pretty. That's the sign of a "winner." Those simply repeating what they've only heard from others, are "whiners."

Ah yes. Homeruns. They are painfully scarce for us, so far. They'll pick up as Nate, and then Ryan, come back. I also think some other guys, like Hinske and Andy, will eventually start contributing to the HR total. But no, we don't have any bombers on our squad, right now.

Looking at the link provided by juan pizarro I see Moss is still a better option then the FA's on that list.. Not much by average but still better.  Plus did you see the catches he made in left filed yesterday?  Great ones.  Hopefully his bat will come around.  I think having him in the 3 hole may help a bit as well. Has the arm for the outfield and we need that.  Temporary of course but it may spark him to do better. This is a plenty of hope for our buccos thought...

All I have to say is one word

AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH

There, I feel much better

IMO, once again, we faced a non-descript pitcher and made him look like Cy Young, AGAIN

On the 54-54-54 scope, where do these three games go?, my vote would be 0-1-2

On pace for 115 dingers is not a good sign, what Adam has 5, Nate has 4, other guys gotta step it up a bit, especially with the injuries

Stan,

Gotcha! Good point. Hope I didn't jinx things, myself. :0:

Ian pitched a good game and with a few runs it would been a nice win.  Last night they take a 5-1 lead and the pitching can't hold it, this afternoon their pitchers give up 1 run and that is all it takes.  

April Report Card (Performance vs. Expectation)

Doumit – Was off to a slow start but starting to pick things up when he got hurt.  Needs to come back and hit with power.

Jaramillo – A very pleasant surprise.  We expected him to be a light hitting back-up catcher, but he’s stepped up and come through with a pretty good average, some timely hitting, and shown some power while being able to handle the pitching staff.

Diaz – We expected him to be in Indianapolis, but he’s filled in adequately as back-up and made some contributions, another unexpected plus.

Ad. LaRoche – The majority were ready for Adam to lay an egg in April, but he came through with power and some timely hitting.   He’s still streaky, and probably will always be – but his timing is much better this year.  Excellent defense as always.  I think we got more out of him than most expected.

Sanchez – I was not surprised that a healthy would return to form hitting for high average.  He’s shown a little more power than I expected and his defense has been adequate.  A little better than what I thought, but I was probably expecting more from him than some.

Wilson – His new batting stance seems to be working, not grounding into double plays the way he was prone to the past couple of years.  No telling how much the finger injury was affecting him.  His defense was reliable – I think he’ll pick it up some after he heals, but he was just a little less than I was hoping for when he went down, though I’m willing to trade the lighter hitting for fewer ground outs.

Bixler – Too soon to tell, incomplete.  A couple of promising games though, and one where he was a fish out of water.

Cruz – Luis we hardly knew ye.

An. LaRoche – After that miserable start our blog whipping boy has turned into a hero.  Hitting well and making highlight reel plays in the field.  I think we’ll see more.  Probably the player whose over what we expected.

Vasquez – Average in the field, not much bat, a disappointment so far despite the high hopes some of the statheads have for him.  Hopefully he’ll regress to the mean.

Morgan – What’s not to like here.  He’s fast, exciting, and a sparkplug when he’s on.  His critics said his lifetime BA was a fluke due to a hot streak, but he’s improved it.  They predicted that when his BA went down his OBP would go down, but it went up.  He’ll be streaky like LaRoche and we’ll be asking ourselves how long can he keep it up, but his April was above expectation.

McLouth – Probably had the best month of anyone until he was hurt, but we had high expectations of Nate.  He met them.  We need to have him recovered though.

Moss – A developing player, and with the progress of both LaRoches, Morgan and Sanchez now stands almost alone as blog whipping boy.  Will he get the time he needs to develop or will he be gone in favor of McCutcheon?  Not up to expectation, but I might add the word: yet.

Hinske – Haven’t seen the power yet.  He’s got a few key hits and seems to be subbing in well for McLouth – but I have to give his April a slightly less than expected grade.  Half his hits have been doubles though, so maybe it’s been bounces and inches.

Monroe – I have to give a little better than expected.  We expected the power that he’s shown, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by his average and OBP.

Young – Haven’t seen much of him, like what I see, but too early to tell much of anything.

Maholm – Started well, slipped a little the past couple games , but has done a yeomanly job so far.  Look for him to bounce back and continue to be effective.

Snell – Erratic, but have liked his last few outings – especially today, but he hasn’t got the breaks either.  Didn’t know what to expect, so it’s hard to grade his performance.

Duke – Another of our pleasant surprises.  Has he returned to his rookie form.  Not quite, but almost and that’s still pretty good.

Ohlendorf – Still a kid, but what a start.  A definite mark in the plus column.

Karstens – Didn’t expect much, but like the fighter in him; probably here because he’s out of options and Grozy isn’t and expected to be learning on the job.

Yates – Biggest disappointment on the pitching staff.  Got through his inning today, ok.  But right now I don’t feel comfortable when he comes in.

Chavez – Biggest surprise on the pitching staff – the guy came on as an afterthought because Meek got the flu and has been steady out of the bullpen.

Veal – I think he’s still got a uniform.

Grabow – Same as always, not afraid to put men, usually finds a way out of jams – but not always.  Not for the feint of heart, but in a way very reliable.

Meek – So far, so good.

Hansen – Injury may have affected his performance, was OK, not great, not bad, just OK.

Burnett – Gets his job done, can have an off game like the rest of ‘em – but about what we expected.

Capps – Had high expectations for Capps and so far as a closer, he’s met them – only disappointment was that extra inning game.  

Team – Although they’ve missed a few opportunities, I don’t think most of us expected them to be around .500 this early.  The pitching has been a pleasant surprise, the offense we thought was going to be spotty and it has been.  They need to turn this losing streak around and quick and we’ve got the Brewers coming up in our house right away.  Need to stop obsessing on the Brewers and just whomp ‘em.   Played well against the Cards and Cincy earlier, bad against Houston, haven’t played the Cubs yet.

Just my opinion, of course, everybody's entitled to one.

Mad,

Yeah, we don't bail on Moss this early. His pedigree of having come up through the Red Sox organization, alone, probably indicates that he really is talented, and not "dud" like JJ Davis or Chad Hermanson.

One bad pitch should not a game make

@Madturk - re - Moss

I agree, its early, still, this fellow is going to be something special, IMO anyhow

I won't post it, but we are at 33 states in Bucco nation, posts are getting too many to look over every day, have we seen a new state or country in the asylum?

JAL, is there any source we can refer to in order to see how many "quality starts" a pitcher has thrown? So far in this young season, Ian has been unfairly pegged with a loss twice already.

Biz

How is Gallardo a non-descript pitcher? He's the ace of a good team, was an uber-prospect, and was on many top 5 lists for Cy Young this year. He was at least one expert's (Ken Rosenthal's) pick for Cy Young.  Whether you agree with those people or not about him actually winning the award, I hardly think he qualifies as non-descript.

JAL,

Nevermind. I just thought it through and realize that it would be easy enough to just check how many games a pitcher went six or more, without giving up over three runs.

Snell threw 131 oitches??  Is Tracey back??

Sorry, catching up

Mr JHadar

If I may say, one of the best posts I've seen here

JHadar,

Excellent report card. Just excellent. I'd probably give Ian just a tad more praise than you, as I have indicated here today, I think Ian took lemons and made lemonade today, only to be let down by his teammates. Ian's a fighter.

I also would hand out grades to JR and the coaches. I'm not down on JR, like some of the other posters on this forum who apparently have major league managing experience. But I would concur that he needs to step out of his personality a little perhaps, and fight for his boys when the calls are unjust. Kerrigan Man, Don Long, Tony Beasley and Perry Hill --absolutely superb. From patience at the plate, to Andy's vast improvement, to having the number one ranked defense, might we have the best supporting cast in the majors?

@BAB -re - Gallardo

I went by his record, thats another reason why my fantasy teams stink : }

Srsly,from what I've read, the brewcrew was very weak in the pitching dept.  

And not to be argumentative, but how many times have we been shut out?

OOPS, never mind, read the record of 3-1 as 1-3, dyslexia is a hard thing to deal with

Bizrow,

Yes, it's true Ian threw 131 pitches today. But as I've been arguing, I don't think it's an issue, in this case.

JL and Bizrow

Definitly to early to give up on Moss. I think he will bloom soon if he relaxes a bit more.

JHadar on Hinske, I maybe have not seen enough from him yet. Maybe just being average and a good luck charm for the team will be enough?

For the rest of his listing I would say anyone can nitpix on a player but the season or half season will tell us more of where they will fit long term or not. So all in all I think JHadar thoughts were fair.

JH--Great post

Jl yes , easy to check--will have it in few minutes

@Bizrow wrote re: Gallardo bests Pirates with arm, bat

on Apr 29, 2009 7:56 PM

Snell threw 131 oitches??  Is Tracey back??

________-

I heard something on the radio that they may throw out the pitch count and go with what they see from the dugout instead.  Mentioned Paul and stated because of all the rest between games and every five days it could be affecting his breaking stuff.  Did anyone hear more on this topic?

But 131 pitches by Ian in 7 innings, IMO what is going on with that?

JAL, thanks for the end of month update, glad I didn't miss it

oops got to run for a bit check back later

Game 1--Maholm--6.2  2 runs

Game 3 Duke  6.1  3 runs only 1 earned

Game 4 Ohlie--6  2 runs

Game 5 Maholm  7  1 run

Game 6  Snell 6  2 runs

Game 7--Duke 9 inning shutout

Game 10 Maholm  7  0 runs

Game 11 Snell 7  0 runs

Game 13 Ohlie  7  0 runs

Game 14 Karstens  6  1 run

Game 17  Duke  8.1  1 run

Game 18 Ohlie  7  3 runs

Game 21 Snell  7  1 run

Before JAL gets back, I guessing that except for Ian's one start against St. Louis, all of them have been quality starts.

re- pitchcount

I'm just thinking about last year and guys getting fined/fired in the minors for not keeping them strict.

Lets keep an eye on how Ian does next start.

Also, the talk on Gorzo was he was worked too much, too many innings.  In my simple thougths innings = pitches or are comparable

WOW, i Just listened to the Great Nolan Ryan on the Dan Patrick Show, he said that pitch counts were ridicolous and overrated, that the pitcher , coach, catcher should be the ones that determine if the pitcher is too  tired......So maybe I or some of us overreacted to Ians 131 pitches...U think..?

Also Braves 4-1 over STL 4th inning, Go Braves

Well, MadTurk had to run, but he brought up the following: "Mentioned Paul (on the radio) and stated because of all the rest between games and every five days it could be affecting his breaking stuff."

I wouldn't be surprised. I'm no major league pitcher. But I've played sports (badly) all my life. And I've only recently eased up on the weight training. Recovery time in sports is very important. But too much down time and strength, speed, stamina, muscle memory --everything, starts to atrophy. There's a fine line between over-training and under-training. Side sessioins between starts surely help. But the intensity is far different, therefore the effects on the body and mind, are different too.

Pedro A 0-2 with a K as Lynchburg trails 3-1.

Negrych 0-2, K, BB as the Curve trail 2-0.

Jared Hughes 5 ip, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 H, BB, 5 K and he hit a batter in that one. Hughes lowers his ERA to 2.35.

JL -- On coaching, my only qualms with JR are his desire to stick with pitchers who don't have it on a given day, and not being a little more demonstrative in his support for his players in game.  I think he's got the respect and admiration of his team though, and they are playing for him -- which is really what being a manager is all about.

Kerrigan, even with high expectations has out performed himself.

Long -- Seems to be making progress with the hitters.  Moss's turn.

Beasley -- read the article about working with pitchers the other day and gained a lot of respect for him.  My worry is that as 3B coach, we seem to have a lot of runners out at home -- but don't know enough to say it's fault or if the guys are overconfident.

Hill -- Fixed Andy, didn't he?  Nuff said.

@daryle -re pitch count

IMO with the PBC's run on pitchers arm troubles, again IMO, nope, I think its something to discuss

In the old days, 4 man rotation, relievers going 2-3 innings several times a week, well, its hard to judge, one thing is you don't know who blew their arms out, no Tommy John then, but also 16 ten man staffs, today what 30 twelve man staffs??

Also, back then, few made 100K, let alone what Sabatha is making,

So IMO, so many variables, but yeah, bottom line is, it worries me

Daryle,

Very timely post about Nolan Ryan's take on pitch counts THANKS! I tend to agree. Each pitcher should be monitored according to his own unique circumstances. Ian is in many ways like Ryan was. Smaller, but very durable athelete. Over Ryans's twenty-plus years pitching, he threw an incredible amount, but rarely, if ever, was injured.

Bizrow, I remember the speculation that Gorzo and Ian both might have had bad '08's because Tracy had them both go over 200 innings in '07. But I tend to think that both Gorzo and Snell suffered from mental laxness, not weakened arms. Snell definitely looks to be back. Gorzo was sent back down to Indy because his mechanics were inconsistent and his pitch selection was not what he was supposed to be doing.

JAL,

Many thanks for quick research results! What a ton of quality starts we have, so far! And Ian has three of them, to just that one bad start against St. Louie. Like I said earlier today, we are NOT seeing the Ian Snell of 2008. He's doing a much better job. We may need an "Ian Express" charter bus as well!

I wonder what Satchel Paige would think of pitch counts?

Furthermore, since Ian has pitched so well, yet only has a 1-3 record to show for it, I say we blow off win-loss records, once and for all. Last year Daisuke Matsuzaka threw a number of bad games, but was bailed out by his team and actually got wins. We all know how irrelevant relief pitcher's win-loss records are. Paul Maholm was better than 9 wins, last year. And Ian is far better, so far, than 1-3. Out the "win-loss" as a metric, in with the "quality starts" and ERA.

Jl

Snell, Duke, and Maholm  each have 3 quality starts.  

JAL -- Are we seein' Ian bein' mean?

JHadar,

Or Cy Young, himself. He once pitched two complete games in a double-header, winning both. And somebody around here mentioned this morning, or yesterday, how Early Winn pitched 15 innings and had some unGodly pitch count.

The health of a pitcher's arm does, indeed, need to be monitored. This is especially so with younger, less experienced, less developed arms. But the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of Uncle Dirty-like veneration of "statisticky" gobbledy-gook taking the place of common sense.

Ooops -- meant JL, don't know why my fingers are giving me such fits tonight.

JL - I hope you are right, mental toughness is a key for sure

Re Nolan Ryan - IMO he is a freak of nature, wasn't he the Mets player who had blisters all the time and soaked his fingers in picle juice?  A long time ago, so sorry if I'm wrong about that.

I think we'll see the results the next Ian start.

Night all, keep the lights on and keep an eye on new inmates

JAL,

Too bad we don't have just a few more W's to go along with those quality starts. Our offensive has been very erratic.

Jl

Ian is being mean--he  K'ed  poor Ryan Braun 3 times today.

JL -- And Walter Johnson once pitched both ends of a Sunday double header and a day game on Monday, won all three, too.  Of course, he had one of the smoothest deliveries that thanks to film I've ever seen.

JL...re quality starts...ESPN carries them in their pitching stats on the Pirates team page. Duke, Maholm and Ohlendorf all have 3...Ian has 2 and Karstens has one.

The rest of this is for the general group. About  pitch counts...131 is a very high number whether it's in 7 or 9 innings. I don't have a problem with Snell's performance today, in fact I praised it in an earlier post. What I am questioning is whether the Pirates have changed their approach to pitch counts? There was a big deal made last year by the management team about keeping pitchers healthy by closely monitoring pitch counts, especially in the minors.

We saw what the heavy workload did to Gorzelanny at the end of 2007...and quite a few people predicted the problems that he had last year. I'd hate to see that happen with 1 or more pitchers that could or will be around when the Pirates are every year contenders. Or are we not supposed to be concerned about the future??

If the approach of the coaching staff has changed, that's fine, I can live with that, as long as they are willing to accept the responsibility, if/when pitchers break down from overwork.

One thing I have noticed, however, has more to do with the build of pitchers. Look at guys like Ryan, Clemens, Carlton and Seaver. All VERY strong in the legs, where most of the power comes from. I haven't seen the Pirates players up close enough to tell whether we've got pitchers with that kind of lower body strength.

If I hear that the coaching staff is fine with the high pitch counts...I'll keep quiet about it in the future. It just seems like a major change from what they have been preaching. And before anybody starts with the "Negative Nelly" calls...I'd be questioning the pitch counts even if the Bucs would have won last night or today. I questioned Maholm's pitch count last night WELL BEFORE the game ended...and did so today even before Snell gave up the HR.

JHadar,

"Ooops -- meant JL, don't know why my fingers are giving me such fits tonight."

The answer, my friend, lies in Bizrow's post, just below yours. Soak your fingers in pickle juice ;-)

And yes, Ian's bein' mean. He was especially was mean to Ryan Braun today! I like this Ian! He's right where we want him to be.

"Ian is being mean--he  K'ed  poor Ryan Braun 3 times today."

Oooh! JAL snuck that right in there before me! "Great minds," huh? But yours is a little faster than mine!

I see that the ESPN quality start stat for Ian is incorrect...that he does have 3...and two of them have been losses, 1-0 and 2-0.

Thunder,

I don't know Ian's lower body, but it's clear that Maholm, and Ohlie especially, have very well built legs. But whether legs are big or not, it's more how they are "used" than how they look.

As for Gorzo, as I already mentioned, his problems weren't determined to be due to having pitched over 200 innings in '07. That was just some speculation tossed out in the media, and then picked up on by some of the posters on the threads here. Gorzo refused to attack hitters. And his mechanics got all sloppy. Dejan just had a piece on him within this past week, citing Neal Huntington's reasons for sending him to Indy. Gorzo still is fighting these demons. It's not from his arm breaking down.

Thunder

I have them all listed in an earlier post above--Snell does have 3.

JL

Great minds it is :)

Thunder,

"I see that the ESPN quality start stat for Ian is incorrect...that he does have 3...and two of them have been losses, 1-0 and 2-0."

Maybe ESPN just hasn't updated that stat for Ian, yet. Still, good to know I can now find this info on ESPN. Thanks, Thunder. I've decided that I, personally, will no longer have much regard for pitchers' win-loss record, as Ian is a misleading 1-3. I'll use this ESPN stat from now on.

Got to run, gang. May or may not be back later tonight.

Ciao for now!

just landed in Harrisburg and got myself caught up.  I know this is late but JH - great post re: player status as well as your follow-up coaching evaluation post.  I would add that those who complain that JR isnt gruff and loud like Leo Durocher should judge him on decisions not style because:

- He has the personality that he has.  can't be who he's not

- Walter Alston, HOF manager of Dodgers, was known as the Quiet Man...similar style to JR.  

There are different paths to greatness. Not saying JR is great, but let's let him be who he is and grow into his role.

JAL - thanks as always on quick response on quality starts stat.  Great info...and happy to say it proves me wrong.  (I predicted pitching woes this year).

Jl

Arm injuries are usually due to delivery technique, not number of pitches.  The exception is a young arm relying on breaking pitches.  As the body matures it can withstand more  so if the delivery is smooth the pitch count should not matter--just weather the pitcher still has his stuff working.  Some go south after 80 pitches, others are still strong after 110.  Garrlado's HR was not due to Ian's pitch count--he just made a poor pitch .  

Well, I think I'm out for the night -- thanks for the conversation.

And remember -- I'm pullin' for ya'.  We're all in this together.

JAL...I would agree that arm and shoulder injuries are usually due to delivery technique. However...as a pitcher tires during a game...technique quite frequently changes. And that is where the potential for injuries or excessive wear comes in.

In the last couple of years, we've started hearing a lot on certain team's broadcasts about a pitcher's "arm slot" changing (usually lowering) as a sign of fatigue or injury. In fact...Gameday Premium now carries a graph of change in arm slot. They wouldn't be carrying the graph if nobody thought is was significant.

On another topic, I guess that ESPN doesn't update ALL it's stats at the end of each game...because it looks like all of Ian's stats were updated but the quality starts one. That'll teach me to not look at a game log.

I only have one more thing to say about Snell's 131 pitches and those that defend it.  Do any of you remember Mark Pryor?  Look how the Cubs overused and abused his arm and look what's come of his career.  Sure, he was young but we still have a young staff ourselves.  Our starters are being sent out to throw too many pitches just about every game now.

Volquez pitching for the Reds against the Astros tonight, with the esteemed Dusty Baker in the dugout. Volquez gives up 1 hit in 8 innings throwing 106 pitches...and Reds lead 3-0.

Does he go for the shutout?? Nope, Baker pinch hits for him in the bottom of the 8th...and brings in Cordero to finish the combined 1 hitter.

Did Baker and Russell switch bodies??

Tough,tough loss today. Should we believe this was Snell's best so far this year?  Bad news as of now Cards leading Braves 5-3 in the 9th, good news, Cubs lost.

AlaskanBuccoFan...I will add another name...Kerry Wood. Commonality between Wood and Prior...Dusty Baker was the manager before and after both pitchers got injured.

Alaska- Prior was injured in the Bartman game by overextending him.  Snell has a few more years on Prior.

Also, Dusty Baker is the WORST manager in the majors on pitcher abuse.  He uses Harang last year in the 17 inning game, and then pitches him 3 days later.

WSB...Snell has a couple of years on Prior...but he doesn't on when Kerry Wood got injured...that was his 4th full season in the majors.

Radio Wave,

I'd say Snell flirted a little too much with fire, pitching a few more balls than strikes, for my comfort level. But he never let the Brewers get to him, or get anything started. The mark of good pitcher is one who contain any damage and get outs when he really needs to.

Thunder,

Don't get me wrong. Now that we finally seem to have a stable of young pitchers who can get *results* (as opposed to past incarnations which teased us, but never performed, like Benson, Wells, etc.), I certainly do not want one of our guys to blow out an arm. I just think pitch count in itself, cannot be the end all metric. I can easily believe that Snell was still strong, and pitching soundly, until JR or Kerrigan or both, felt he had thrown enough.

Thunder

Fatigue can can arm slots though it often said sinker-ball pitchers get better with fatigue--at least some fatigue.  I do not know if they will understand why some pitchers can't stay healthy and others go out year after year with no problem.  How did Warren Spahn go over 250 innings for 17 straight seasons--several over 300 and many over 280.  More recently, Nolan Ryan went over 300 a couple of times and was over 200 many times.  Then you a Carl Pavano who only hit 200 twice in 11 seasons.

Pitchers under 25 tend to suffer more from overuse than those over 25.

Call me a glutton for punishment...either that or I really just wanted to SEE Duffy play...not just hear it.  But I'm watching the replay on mlb.tv.

First...the announcer is milque-toast generic.  No enthusiasm one way or the other.  BORING!

Second...it looks like Snell can't get on the same page with Diaz.   Of all the starters, it's Snell that I see could have the most problem with Doumit being out.  Ryan has caught him going back to when they were in the minors, so Snell is comfortable with him.  

Yes, he's supposed to be professional and be able to work with any of the catching staff, but for someone like Snell, it could be a factor.

Just making a couple of observations.  :-)

I do not consider Prior abused  most innings he pitched in a season was 211 at age 23--Clemens hit 245 at age 23 and .282 at 24 and he did not break down like Prior.

JAL,

To speak to your rhetorical question about why some pitchers can go on and on, and some are more fragile, I believe that part of it IS that the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of "protecting" pitchers arms. Once again, in Japan they really seem to believe in having pitchers pitch until their arms drop off. Yet is we had to choose the very best facet of Japanese baseball, it would be their pitching. With smaller bodies, they can pitch *almost* as fast, have superior control, and go deeper into each appearance, than their U.S. counterparts. And as I also said before, they throw year-round, with no significant down time. Though the latter would seem to harsh for me, I do have to wonder if the lenghty off-season for U.S. pitchers is possibly bad for their arms. They allow their arms to fall out of "pitching shape", just to have to break them in all over again, every year. Is this really good?    

Jl

Excellent question--staying in shape may well be less taxing than getting out of shape and then getting back into shape.  

I would agree that there is no "end all metric" on how much a pitcher should be throwing. It does appear to me...however...that the Pirates mindset on use of pitchers seems to have changed from last year. That's why I've submitted a question to the Q and A asking about it.

I think that Nolan Ryan would tell you...as Roger Clemens would...that they got most of their power and stamina from their legs...and were in excellent overall shape. They seem to have developed their entire body to be ready for a heavy load of pitching. Though...of course...there might be a question of whether Roger might have had a little chemical help.

Spahn...who I didn't see pitch in his prime (I was 5 when he had his last winning season)...was not a power pitcher. He averaged a little over 4 strikeouts per 9 innings...lower than Zach Duke. (4.6 to 4.4)

Pitching to contact...he would tend to throw fewer pitches than a power pitcher.

JL...re the Japanese approach to pitching. It seems to work well while the pitchers are in Japan. However, up to this point...when Japanese pitchers come to the U.S...they haven't shown sustained success (multiple seasons). Is it that we are not getting the best Japanese pitchers?? Or that they have changed what they do when they arrive here??

I seriously don't know the answer to that one.

Thunder

Good point--contact pitchers can throw less.

With that, off the night

Good night to all and to all a good night

I saw the way Vazquez, Sanchez, Moss and LaRoche responded to the calls by the home plate umpire, but honestly I thought they were hittable, especially with two strikes.

BUT, I remember our hitting approach under Tracy and in a very real sense I'm happy that our guys are developing a good eye under the tutelage of Don Long.

Man, I hope we can win at least 2 out of 3 with the Reds (of course!), then kick some serious Brewer butt when they come back to town next Monday.

DMac,

Very insightful about Snell and Diaz. I wish I could remember who, but somebody else, earlier today, also thought Diaz was setting up outside of the strike zone too often. That prompted me to wonder if this was one of Kerrigan's "game plans" --ie, to not give the Brewers much to hit? It would seem to run counter to what we've been told about Kerrigan and his mantra to throw strikes. But Snell actually got away with a lot of balls, today. Is it possible he was doing exactly what he was told to do? Either way, I think we'll all feel a lot more confident once Ryan is back there, running the show again.

...Might have been Baywatch who observed Diaz kept setting up outside of the strike zone...

Thunder,

We've only had a handful of Japanese big-name starters come over here in their prime. Matsuzaka is still going strong. Nomo lasted well into his late 30's, I believe. Irabu and Igawa flaked off, but it had nothing to do with injuries or deteriorating performance. I can't think any other big-name J-pitchers who came here in their prime, only to flop after a year or two. Kuwata was already washed up, of course, when he came to the U.S.

JL...It could be, but I think there was some misunderstanding somewhere.  At one point during the first, Snell looked at Diaz and put his finger to his temple, like he was saying "think".  

Between innings, Snell and Kerrigan were going over the game plan.  Snell pointed to something on the chart and said something to Kerrigan -- I don't read lips, so I have no clue what.  

Whatever it was, I hope they get it rectified.  

Was that Diaz, or Jaramillo yesterday?  I know someone said that about JHammer yesterday...

Baywatch,

Short night riding Paul Revere through the villages with your pizzas? Or are you sneaking some internet time in the manager's office in the back of the kitchen?

I happen to be eating pizza right now, as a matter of fact. Red Baron from the store. But it's pretty darn good.

DMac,

I getting kind of foggy about who said what, yesterday. But as Baywatch is now in the house, but hasn't fessed up to saying that, I guess it wasn't him. Again though, interesting stuff about Snell gesturing to his temple with Diaz, and then having a dugout conference with K-man. (Can I shorten his name to K-man?)

JL...LOL..K-man it is!  Now into the 4th, though, they look like they're in sync more.  This is/was only Diaz's 2nd start.

I wish I could figure out how to sync the PIrates audio with the mlb video...this guy is one dull as dirt.  I get that he's neutral because he an MLB guy, but honestly!  

JL, I just checked out Nomo's career numbers because I didn't remember him being around all that long, but you were right ... he actually pitched a few games for the Royals last season before hanging 'em up.

And he was with the Dodgers twice ... never knew that. You hardly ever see a guy leave for awhile (he was gone three years from the Dodgers), then come back and be as good as he was before. He went 16-6 with the Dodgers in 2002, after sojourning with the Red Sox, Mets, Brewers and Tigers.

Oh, that wasn't me talking about Diaz setting up outside. Someone said something the other night about Jaramillo doing that, though.

I'd say Kerrigan's game plan to not give the Brewers hitters anything they could hit was a pretty good one, given the way they hurt us the first two days ... and Snell has the nasty slider to help make it work.

Too bad on Gallardo's home run. Honestly, just before he hit it, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be terrible if ..." then BAM! And if you think about it, given the game plan, who would have the best pitch to hit all day? The pitcher!

Bay,

I'm guessing that Nomo's unorthodox delivery would be one that put an awful lot of torch and stress on his arm. Yet, he was like an energizer bunny. He just kept going on and on and on ...  As for any pitching game plan, I'm just sitting here on the proverbial barstool, guessing at what K-man might have cooked up to try and beat the Brewers. I could be far, far off. But it is kind of interesting to speculate about. And your last thought, "if you think about it, given the game plan, who would have the best pitch to hit all day? The pitcher!", makes for even better speculation. It would be nice if Chuck Finder can dig these things out for us.

DMac, gonna check out again for a few. But I'm very interested in what observations you draw from watching the rest of the game. Do post a few thoughts when the inspiration hits you.

Gallardo hit a 3-run shot off of Randy Johnson early in the season, so they should have been more careful with him.

I just saw Andy's double and...Duffy nearly threw him out at 2nd.  It's probably a good thing I didn't see that real time...I may have hyperventilated at that moment...omg.

JL, Yes, they've all been short nights here lately, pretty much by design ... I generally want to be home when my Pirates are playing. Plus, I'm not enjoying working there so much these days ... control-freak manager on the job now ... yeah, tryin' to wait him out.

Red Baron Pizza is cool!

I have seen Hinske, Adam and Vazquez grumble at called third-strikes.

Andy wit the glove!  Gallard hit a grounder down the line that was fair.  Andy was playing about 5 ft to the SS side of the bag and went to his right, and fielded the ball a foot foul, and threw off his back leg to Adam for the out.  VERY nice play.

Duffy's double wasn't anything special, but with his speed, he was at the bag, standing, well ahead of Freddy getting the throw from Hinske.  

He he he...REALLY loving Braun going down on strikes.  

Bay...I tried Dominos online ordering last night...that's pretty slick!  They've got the specials listed on there, so I don't have to try to understand the person on the phone with background noise...and I don't have to call.  For someone who spends all day on the phone, that's a definite bonus!

And -- to tie this all in to baseball -- I got my dinner just in time for first pitch!  :-)

Well...that sucks. New thread up...Tabata out 4-6 weeks with his hamstring issue.

@DMac - "I tried Dominos online ordering last night...that's pretty slick!  They've got the specials listed on there, so I don't have to try to understand the person on the phone with background noise...and I don't have to call."

I've been wanting to do that, too, just for the heck of it, on an off night. Just stay away from the new Pasta Bowl thing ... It looks like dog food! The things they try to spring on people sometimes!

Alright, need a little inspiration to tie this in to baseball ...

Anyone else have as strong a feelings as I have about JR's choice to send Monroe up there against Gallardo? I figured that would be a much better time for a contact hitter like Delwyn Young. And boy did Monroe take that third strike right down the middle!

Bay...Thanks for the heads-up on the Pasta Bowls!  If I want noodles, I'll stick to Chinese.  ;-)

I would rather have seen Delwyn PH too...IMO, he takes more pitches than Monroe

Also...SNell had Braun just off kilter the entire game.  Snell may have struck him out 4 times, but the last out of the last inning Snell pitched was a CS, with Braun at the plate, on a 2-2 count.  

Diaz doesn't look as smooth behind the plate as Jaramillo, IMO.  He's made some really good stops/blocks on balls in the dirt.  He's good, but I think I see why they kept Jaramillo on the 25-man roster and not Diaz.  

Overall, after the first couple of innings, I don't think Snell looked that bad. He made 1 bad pitch to Gallardo and that was the difference, I think.