Beltran 'embarrassed' by Pirates' sweep

I'm still not totally sold on losing such a good player and guy to root for in McLouth but it's nice to see the Bucs get under somebody's skin like this....a moral victory I suppose...

uh oh...looks like somebody's a little angry....

Nurse can we send some chill pills to Beltran ASAP

;)

Nope, just a victory.  And that's plenty today.

LOLLLLLLLLLLLL

Has Beltran looked at his lineup, I can't stop thinking about the NEW DYNAMIC Andrew brings, we will be like the Herzog Red Birds, 2 fast guys at the top of the lineup and manufacture runs , endless pressure on the defense and pitcher.....YESSSSSSSS

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Hey Carlos, I've got a message for you:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Your pitching staff after Santana STINKS, your bullpen is a joke, and your lineup requires GARY SHEFFIELD to be a run producer. You're embarassed? You should be embarassed by your GM. He's the one who gave Ollie Perez 40 million dollars, and decided it was a good idea to go to war with Luis Castillo at second, Brian Schneider behind the dish, and the ghosts of Gary Sheffield and Carlos Delgado figuring prominently in the lineup.

Oh, if anyone's still interested, Matt Wieters is batting .143 for the Orioles.

Dayrle, you are right on the money.  Like they said back in the day.......

SPEED KILLS!!!!!!!!!!

Carry over from previous thread....

#####CONSPIRACY THEORY#####

For your consideration.....

This owner and front office sell their line that they are building a winner through the draft and farm system and that Bob Nutting has infused cash into the amateur draft budget, and latin american free agent budget, not to mention the academy.

Well riddle me this Batmen......isn't fishy that last summer after drafting Pedro Alvarez, beating their chests calling themselves the best management team in baseball, if not all of sports, they salary dumped Bay, Nady, Marty, and Bautista to help offset the costs of signing Pedro Alvarez.

Leap ahead to 2009. Here we are a week away from the amateur draft and a few weeks away from the latin american free agent signing period and low and behold they pull the plug on yet another season and dump Nate McLouth, saving another $15.75 million over the next three years?

Do you people see what these guys are doing? It's the old right pocket, left pocket game.

Bob Nutting has not increased his commitment to winning by a single penny. Instead, they are taking money out of the big league payroll to fund their actions to build the farm system.

While at the same time greedily snapping up those revenue sharing monies from his peers and accepting the financial benefits to a publically funded ballpark.

This man just outright dispicable.

Roxtar,

Yeah, and the Pirates had a winning record in April.

Small sample size don't mean jack.

beltran is a whiny overpaid punk. it makes me laugh to see him whine like this. we always crush the mets when they play here, few things bring me as much joy every summer. i wish we could play them 30 more times a year, we'd have winning seasons every time.

Carlos, Carlos, Carlos, face it......you guys just arn't that good. You sound like the Yankees after the 60 World Series. We scored more runs, and that is how you have to win the game.

BAB, to be fair, their bullpen coming into the series wasn't so bad--even if it is WAY overpriced.

That said, Beltran didn't even play in two of the games, so why is he, of all people mouthing off?

Everything else you said though, I agree with. They are the "METS" and we're the "pirates," so just because they have the big names they should cruise. Wake up, Carlos, the games aren't played on paper.

NuHo

I replied on the last thread, too, but yeah, I think that's EXACTLY how it works. Bob gets his, we get the shaft. Again.

NuHo, you're probably right--Nutting wants to appear to be doing the right thing, while continuing to groom his cash cow.

I can't help but follow this plan though, for now. (Yes, I'm young and naive) They have made, dare I say progress, even if it's come at the cost of some good players.

I wondered about trading Nate in the offseason, but when they pulled the trigger, I was truly shocked. I don't get to many games though, so I don't feel like it's MY money lining his pockets, I guess.

Why do you still watch, NuHo, if it seems yo detest all that he does (and I don't mean to sound like a jerk in asking, as any fan of the club is fine by me--but you offer a different perspective from my own)

Thanks.

BAB,

Fair enough buddy.

;-)

Beltran is the Mets version of the hated Ryan Braun. Both are whining punks who i love to see get drilled with a fastball or just see them flat out angry.

Yotum

I completely agree. Maybe if he started blaming his teammates for 2 of the 3 losses because he didnt play he would have some merit. But seriously jus shut up carlos.

Saw an interview with Nate, your heart has to go out to him, he was a Bucco, wanted to stay a Bucco, no fake about him, he sure took this move hard. Class act, I will be pulling for him in Atlanta, just like I pull for Jason in Boston, you have to hate this side of sports.

Yotum,

Simple.

I love the Pirates, despise the owner and front office.

Loved them for 40 years. Nutting, Coonelly, and Huntington are only temporary.

Unlike some, I am not solely concerned with how much money is being spent, but how that money is being spent.  An $80M payroll and 82 wins does nothing for me.

You're kidding yourself if you don't see an appreciable difference in the approach Huntington is taking compared to Littlefield.

Did the Matt Morris trade make you happy, since, hey, they spent some money?

If we did a salary dump.....why do we have the SAME record as last year at this time? Would that signify that the players we NOW have,are doing MORE than Bay/Nady/Marte.In essence we are getting more out of less.The OF has no errors.Our defense went from the bottom to # 2 and the pitching is in the middle of the NL.

 Let's face it Bay will get $12-15 mil/year. Does anyone really think we could sign him for 9-10 mil? No way.Should we have let him go for a draft pick?If Andy and Moss have stats(together) that are the equal of Bay's then we are still ahead.No way Bay can play TWO positions.Also when Bay gets 50 million(3 years) + an option year can anyone of us see giving 30% of payroll to ONE player.In a year or two whether ALL of us want to believe it or not it WILL  be a good trade.  

If Beltran is upset he need look no further than the mirror.In 2006 he hit 41 HRs.He is on pace for 22 this year.Must a year away from free agency

Maz, I think that's oversimplifying a bit.  Other guys (Duke and Morgan come to mind) have stepped up.  Overall, I'd say the ML club is a bit less talented than it was a year ago.

But the farm system is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was a year ago, and the organization as a whole has improved markedly.

Hey Carlos at 19/mil this year that's like $ 900,000/HR.

I didn't realize Beltran attended the Mike Holmgren School of Sore Loserdom.

Carlos, you can fess up to being one of the 104 now.  No media controversy.   Your rage is being displayed.

Good evening, fellow inmates.

I just got caught up after meeing up with our own JH, who is in town from Iowa, as well as JJ, Arriba Wilver, Radio Wave, his wife Barb and of course Wilson, Irate and his brother and Capn.  Had a good dinner and it was great talking to JH.  

Question:  Why is it that so people, and I'm watching Sports Beat so this is part of where this comes from, Why is it that I say I'll miss Nate, someone turns around and will say, "just wait -- you'll love Andrew McCutchen"?  It's not a question of liking AMac or not...I saw him play this spring and he's a good player.  But he's not Nate and I was looking forward to seeing them BOTH play OF at PNC together.  There is still a loss there for me.  

Okay...on to this topic.  Beltran is a whiner.  It must be a NY thing...Heaven forbid the Pirates show the talent that they have and get respect for it.  This team DOES have talent, it's just taken them time to display it.

RE:  Trading Maholm or Duke -- I think it wouldn't make sense to trade pitching.  That seems to be where our lack of depth is.  And Maholm and Duke are our 2 best starters.  

I think it was PoH that said something similar on a previous thread, and it was asked at dinner earlier, would they trade Doumit?  5pm yesterday, I would have said emphatically, "NO!"  but now...I know NH has said no one is untouchable, but I figured Nate was one of a handful that were as close to that mark as possible.  And he's getting ready to play for Atlanta tonight.  

I am glad they won today -- I think the team needed a win today for more reasons than just to improve their record.  

FormerSoxFan-Take a look at the OBP of the players hitting in front of Bay and you will see why he has 51 RBI. They are .415,.363,and .482.

The reason Bay has all those RBI  is there are more people on base.Oversimplifying is pretty much the fact that if he was with any other club his RBI would be much lower.Ellsbury had a 16 game hitting streak.Pedroia was MVP and his OBP is .415 and Youkilis OBP was .482.

Carlos, your pain makes me feel soooooooooooo good.

Few things can make a Pirate fan feel better than a whining Met.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Maz......Bay's new home field is much more friendly to right a right handed hitter than his old one was too.

Put this up on the bulletin board.Thanks Carlos for lighting a fire on the boys.

someone change that over stuffed over paid whining baby's NASTY diaper before he gets a rash!

maybe he is just dizzy from watchin CLUTCH run around the bases.

HEY BELTRAN: SWEET  SWEEP

I RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER OVER YOUR JOLLY RANCHER

Hey FormerSoxFan......Littlefield/Huntington....There both the same....Interchangable.

Just puppets for the masters that pull the strings above them.

Huntington is the latest, and he should be ashamed to even be a part of any of these trades that he supposedly made in the past 10 months.

He didn't even have the guts to pull the trigger in Pittsburgh.

He was down in Bradenton with an orange juice and toast as he GAVE AWAY another player....this time to Atlanta.

Congratulations to Randy Johnson! 300 wins is one of the most impressive possible baseball achievements.

"Littlefield/Huntington....There both the same....Interchangable"....wow, That is a naïve statement if there ever was one.  

I seem to recall one of the broadcasting crew saying that when you look at the two teams statistically, they are pretty close to each other. Obviously the Mets have the names and the salaries and the Bucs dont. Beltran's comment is just stupid. Maybe we should put one in his ear on July 2.

Geez, this guy has no grasp on history.

You would think he would have learned something from 1988 when Dwight Gooden called the Pirates a bunch of little leaguers. Two years later they couldn't buy a win over the Pirates.

Where's Jim Gott when we need him?

In re: Beltran.

I would be embarassed after getting pecked to death for 11 runs - and only 2 extra-base hits.

@ Hostage. And as long as the PBC management pays lip service by "drafting the best talent" while carefully throwing a doilly over the stains from where that talent is quickly traded once it reaches the Bigs, they will forever be replacing "results" with "hope."

There is not a single team in the majors that would say they have enough talent on the farm.

Meanwhile, my tax dollars subsidize their operation by providing them with a first-class facility. It is kept first-class by using our tax dollars.

A great scheme. Bernie Madoff is in jail. These guys are "community leaders." Go figure.

My $$ being led to their bottom-line...

OHHHH, quick, someone call the WAAAAAAAMBULANCE for Carlos!!

How 'bout a little cheese with that whine?!

This is really the only thing we can look forward to as Pirate fans. Who will disrespect us in the media?  Who will they trade next?  What will we get in return?  Let the player go through all his growing pains for the Bucs and then ship him off to one of the elite MLB franchises.  I am thrilled the minor league franchises will have a fresh infusion of talent but I paid the cable company to watch the Pirates.  I love the Pirates but very frustrated with them right now more than ever.

@leadoff wrote re: McCutchen sets pace in Pirates' win, 11-6

on Jun 4, 2009 5:53 PM

Mad

The only pitching this year to be traded is Grabow and Snell.

___________________

I agree with what you said.  To the pen as well is what I was calling for but if he has any return value then I would trade him.  Also think  that Mr K can fix pitching but he is not a shrink!  Snell needs a shrink or learn to listen and pitch like he is told.

Wow.  Think about the last two evenings.  A lousy night, then a fantastic night.  Does that count as .500 baseball?

@FormerSoxFan wrote re: Beltran 'embarrassed' by Pirates' sweep

on Jun 4, 2009 7:07 PM

Maz, I think that's oversimplifying a bit.  Other guys (Duke and Morgan come to mind) have stepped up.  Overall, I'd say the ML club is a bit less talented than it was a year ago.

But the farm system is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was a year ago, and the organization as a whole has improved markedly.

____________

Ditto

Good evening inmates near and far.  Wonderful game today, and enjoyed the post game get together too. Very nice to meet Mr. Hadar, pure Iowa, and that's great.  I'll always have a special place in my heart for Iowa.  Today we saw the dawn of a new era of Bucs baseball. This is not your Dad's Lumber Company.  This is small ball.  Despite the hurt feelings DK told us about in the locker room, this team came out today and showed professional pride and class. This is a credit to JR who was able to motivate his players to show up and play hard.  Jackson  is a very plesant surprise thus far.  And each of our backup catchers has produced very well.  And the size of the crowd, and the 3,000 walk up was great too.  No, I still don't like the trade, and I'm certain there will be more before July 31st, but what we were given on the field today was very good baseball. Go Bucs/Pens.

Pens up by 1 in the first.  Go Pens!!

DMac, I feel your pain but I have resolved myself to the fact that we should not get attached to any one player.  I know that does not help and it took me awhile to understand it as well. They are doing what they are trying to do and what they have said before to us fans. Doesn't mean we have to like it or even agree.  You sure don;t need to be attacked or questioned for your feelings.

Off to watch the Pens win tonight!!!

Interesting comments. I teach leadership and teamwork to the service industry. While the jury is out on the PBC FO, I do like what I am hearing and actually what I am seeing. I hated to see Nate go but he was NOT a run producer like most of the big sticks out there. He was ours but not a major league big hitter. While we didn't get one in return (and why would have Atlanta done that?), we did get other pieces we need. I am not 100% sure those pieces will stick--they may be trade bait to package with..oh Jack Wilson to get that bigger stick.

I didn't like it when the Steelers dumped Burress or Porter, but they knew what they had and what they were doing--and they have been doing it for 40 years now. I am sure the Steelers weren't immediately successful with this formula started in 1969, but this same model has been consistent for 40 years now!

This talk is interesting, especially Nutting and the bottom line, and conspiracys

IMO, and thankfully no stink bugs at either of my homes, the key is what is done with the upcoming draft, the talking heads speak of today and Atlanta and Frank Wren (who if you remember was offered the PBC GM spot before the unmentioned one) are better today and with immediate reward,

NuHo makes a good point, dump salary before the draft, which we have all talked about, how much moolah will we have especially if we sign Sano

My concern is NH has no track record, FC is a Bud man, wants to go higher, or so I hear, and will toe Buds line, IMO Nu Hos comment has some questions

That being said, you can always find the bone if you buried them, Nu Ho, you must be have buried a few in your life?? : }

mad...I understand it and logically, I know it's part of Baseball...the side I don't care much for.  Nate is one of those guys on this team that has been on the team since I started following the Pirates. It's strange to me to be suddenly Nate-less.  ;-)

-ahem-

Whatta maroon!  What an overstuffed joik!

There is little in this world that makes a wabbit smile more than some overpriced, underperforming millionaire getting it handed to him by a team of nobodies.

I'll take my nobodies, thank you very much.  Just on principle.  

Poor Carlos.  Ashamed, huh?

Wait'll next time ya big palooka!

Wabbit.

For those interested...Morton is scheduled to start the 2nd game of the DH for Indy tonight.

In Altoona...Moskos 5 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K so far. That's a lot of baserunners in 5 innings.

Since Beltran only played in one game does this qualify him for the Ian Snell award of the week?The "I just threw the whole team under the bus' cause I'm throwing a tantrum award" and "I'm not exactly the most humble guy award" too.

Beltran's comments remind me of Dwight Goodens comment about the Buccos in say 88-89?  They are a bunch of little leaguers, another reason to get us into the Mutts division and recreate the T-Shirt Muck the Fetts...  got that past the censors....

What really gets me is Smizik changing his tune on the trade. One day he says the Bucs just gave away the season by trading Nate. The next day he says it was a gutsy move and may pay off. Will the real Smizik please stand up.......

I'd like to see the Pirates players use this as some motivation.

DK, do you know if the Pirates have heard about Beltran's comments?

LOL...Sounds good to me, Maz!  

Biz - congrats on getting one past the censors.  I remember them from Good Morning Vietnam.

And you nailed it...just like Goodens' whining.  Guess that means we're a year or two away from winning the division.  Unfortunately it may also mean we're 3-4 years away from Sid Bream's slide.

@DMac wrote re: Beltran 'embarrassed' by Pirates' sweep

on Jun 4, 2009 8:46 PM

mad...I understand it and logically, I know it's part of Baseball...the side I don't care much for.  Nate is one of those guys on this team that has been on the team since I started following the Pirates. It's strange to me to be suddenly Nate-less.  ;-)

_______________

Nate-less Nate-less you say, That is bad my friend.  You are a true Pittsburgher at heart.  

The speed at the top of our lineup wore me out.  I'm signing off for the night.

Not exactly sure how to take this.Sports Illustrated

• The Mets' Triple-A lineup is finally catching up to them in Pittsburgh this week. "The Pirates are a scrappy team,'' one scout said.

@PI Stingray wrote re: Beltran 'embarrassed' by Pirates' sweep

on Jun 4, 2009 8:54 PM

What really gets me is Smizik changing his tune on the trade. One day he says the Bucs just gave away the season by trading Nate. The next day he says it was a gutsy move and may pay off. Will the real Smizik please stand up.......

___________

He's belongs in politics, Whatever way they wind is blowing. Or who pays him the most for his vote.

I see the Braves have Mc Louth batting third ahead of Jones and MC Cann (game is delayed, hasn't started yet). Should be interesting to see if power hitters behind him make a difference. I think it was too much pressure on him to bat in that spot on the Pirates.

PI

I think that most of the inmates had the same initial reaction that he did, and I have witnessed many of them lighten their tone toward a  more neutral “I’ll wait and see” stance today. Frankly, we just don’t know very much about these 3 prospects and trading a fan favorite is never going to be popular.

The cold hard facts are that we are still starving for pitching at all levels. We had nothing in the cupboard last year, and the mounting losses led to the Nady/Bay trades.

Just returned from watching RJ win #300--pitched 6 innings giving up  1 run  and 3  3 hit

Two comments from reading up on the two threads:

Did several peiople get cloned by Pam or have sex change with HaHa stuff.

Second , why the poster who posts some of the most ridiculous statements I have ever read wonder what the explanation for ridiculous statements is?

All the discussions this spring and winter we had about FA pickups and none of them we showed interest in leaps out and says"we messed up by not signing this guy or that one".I'm beginning to think the FO were smart enough not to waste money on all those free agents.Anyone else?Rocco Baldelli stats for example

SPLITS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS

Season 16 49 5 13 1 1 2 7 3 15 0 0 .265 .308 .449 .757

Frustrated...I think it was too much pressure without Doumit backing him up.  He did okay when Ryan's in the cleanup spot.

mad...I'll get to being somewhat okay with this.  I think.  Them winning doesn't hurt.  ;-)

OK -- Way too much stuff on the blog for a traveler to read everything  -- but it has been an interesting day for this old Iowegian.  

After the reain out yesterday and the trade I'm taking a wait and see attitude.  I'll miss Nate and wish him well against everybody but us.  It's an emotional parting when you trade away a quality player.  The feeling for me hasn't changed much since we lost Groat.

The Value for value issue is going to take three or four years to evaluate -- but I expected the knee jerk reactions to be negative, more for reasons above -- a guy in a Pirates jacket and cap said  to me in the lobby "he was just coming into his own."  

But the strategy aspects of the trade (more than way to skin a cat you know [with butter]) are positive and intriguing.  I got caught in a huge traffic jam and made Jersey Joe and Capn miss McCutcheon's first hit while they waited for me out front and when I got there and found out what had happened, I was thinking to myself "this thing better not wind up 2-0, and by the time I actually to our seats it was "this thing better not wind up 4-0"

But when I finally saw McCutcheon I was truly impressed.  The man is an athlete.  His speed is track star speed and his acceleration is instantaneous.  And then as I mentioned last night, we have a starter in Indy with a 7-2, 2.52 and our rehabilitation project with Snell is gasping for air.  

----- continued

My goodness, if my back of the envelope addition is correct, we've had over 800 posts thus far today. Is that new high water mark?

Personally, I'm embarassed we got swept at Citi Taxpayer FIeld the last time we played these Shlepps.  Beltran is good, and David Wright is good, but who else in that lineup scares you? When they are all healthy, maybe they're better.  But right now? Probably not.

Continuing from above --

So it really doesn't take a rocket surgeon to see that this trade really does have positive implications with an upside down the road.  Were those the best three players we could have come away if we had been shopping Nate -- maybe, maybe not.  Quite a few have pointed out here today that his numbers were not all that great.  Yes he was our star, and a gold glover and had some power -- but how is an opposing GM going to analyze the deal -- from a Pittsburgh fan's POV.  

Well, I got treated to a lot today.  The Nyjmo bus has to be jumpin' -- the way he went from first to third on that "error" on the shot he SMOKED down the line.  And Jackson looked good and now has his first big league W.  

........ continued

@Maz - re baldelli

Yup, must admit I was a strong supporter of signing him, but the season is still fairly early, not good stats so far, but won't give in quite yet

If we can believe about its all about getting depth, Rocco would have been a good signing, offer arbitration and he's yours, now we are talking about 4 mil for Sano, IMO not much different $ wise, monopoly money

So I will once again get out of the closet and align with Moss, put him out there for a week or so, then we can discuss good and bad with him.  As stated earlier, he's not a yo-yo

A  couple notes

Andy LaRoche was removed at the start of the seventh inning due to a bruised right knee. He was hit by a pitch in the fourth. X-rays were negative. ... Despite being swept at Citi Field last month, Pittsburgh is 11-5 against NL East teams this season.

I SO love watching the playback games when I know the outcome is a big W for us ... much less stressful!

I haven't read the comments on this thread yet. I'm sure there are lots of them on Beltan and his remarks. You know, the Mets (with Beltran, Reyes and Delgado in there) MAY be better than the Bucs. MAY be is as far as I'm going with that one.

But how TACKY is it for a professional baseball player, whose club just got swept by a team, to say that they're better than us! It's just a totally tacky and foolish thing to say. Bush league all the way around.

If we keep getting Adam and Andy untracked, has anyone giving any thought to calling them "Big Poison and Little Poison," just like the Waner brothers who played for the Pirates years ago?

UK

Good question and I have no idea.  I would guess it may be just because more people have discovered the blog in the past year.  The Bay trade was probably high for its time but less people knew about the blog then.

continuing --

Someone said last night that the reason they don't post is because some of us go off topic and talk to each other (instead of what, griping all the time?)  I want him and others with like opinons to know that yes they are welcome to post opinions -- most of us are not really baseball experts, just bloggers and bloggerinas (sounds better than bloggerettes doesn't it) [or just bloggers if you don't like feminine endings in English] are mostly people who just like the game, like the Pirates, and bounce ideas off each others.  

I got to meet a few of them in person today -- I already mention Joe and Cap'n, but the list includes Pirata and her Dad and we talked baseball and how her comedy show went and how big is Humboldt Iowa and a few other things -- and it wasn't off topic.  It was people talking.  Cap'n was a Math Professor once.  

So that's what happens on the blog after a few hundred posts.  You make friends.

Irate was there, he and his brother came up and spent the ninth inning with us.  And after the game we had a bite to eat with all of the above and were joined by Radio Wave (he has some Iowa roots it turns out) Mrs RW, Arriva and DMac.  And we talked and talked and talked -- baseball, the trade, the game, Andy LaRoche's arm -- you very rarely get the effect of an across the diamnond throw on TV and he had a great one today -- and other stuff too.

Continued.

JAL

We were probably going to top out at just over 700 until Beltran opened his big mouth and gave the Asylum inmates some bilboard material

;-)

JH

It was bad luck that you got rained out last night, but at least you got to see a great game today. I met most of the inmates that you were with today and you can't find truer fans anywhere.

Sorry I missed meeting with  you and the rest of the inmates today, but my schedule didn’t accommodate.

Continuing yet again

One thing we were unanimous on -- we got our money's worth.  Kind of feel sorry for all those who are never going to a Pirate game until their demands are met.  The way McCutcheon played my personal thought is this is something I'll be telling folks about years from now.

And for those of you who think that the Pirates don't care about their fans.  I have this experience to relate.  Jersey Joe evidently told someone in the Pirates front office that there was a guy from Iowa adjusting a trip to take in the Pirates game.  

Well, I have the business card of Lou DePaoli -- two autographed baseballs (Freddy Sanchez & Rennie Stennet), a new pullover, a mug, autographed pictures of Steve Blass, Dick Groat, and Vern Law, and a better understanding of the thinking behind the McLouth trade.

So for me anyway, it's better to join in the converstation than it is to complain about it.

Today was so much better than yesterday was bad.  Afterwards I took a walk along the Riverwalk, called Mrs. H and suggested we do a vacation here sometime -- and as soon as I find a newspaper machine, my intention is to take my "two quarters" and drop them in as a symbolic gesture of appreciation to Dejan and the folks at the Gazette who supplied the framework to make days like this possible.

-30-

has this idiot seen his teams lineup lately

it's a trainwreck. go spend another 10 million in the offseason and get some real depth instead of this crap they call an offense.

you're gonna have another losing series again this weekend jackass!

Rain outs can be positive--RJ was supposed to pitch yesterday but because of the rain out i got to see #300 tonight--couldn't have gone yesterday because of introducing Michael Connelly so the rain out worked to my advantage.

By the way - in 2008 after 53 games, Pirates were 25-28. Same as this year - without Bay and Nady.

JH

Very nice story and glad you had such a nice time.

JH

Glad you had a good time at PNC, those of us that are lucky enough to get to a lot of games don't know how fortunate we are sometimes, Your right, it is too bad some people are to hard headed to take advantage of what they have. It is a lot easier to watch great plays live and get an idea of how tough some of them are than to watch it on television.

I was impressed with the different outfield alignments that I have not seen before, McCutchen changes the dynamics of the outfield, that is for sure. Did not see the "No Triples Defense" at all today.

@JH - am so glad you had a good time, and good work, brought home some wins.  IMO, PBC folks are more than friendly, I think they even got rid of some ushers who's only thing was a tip or two.

Night all, lights out from Nurse Cratchet, she says if I brush my teeth and get in bed, I can listen to the Pens and Mike Lange, the hockey version of the Gunner for a while..

Hey, a not so good day and we are still hoping, not a bad thing at all.

Hey, JHadar! I'm right behind you, Bro! Three Weeks from today, me and Mrs. Bay start making our journey up ... Glad to hear you had a great time ... and built some memories of that young man, McCutcheon!

is morton pitching tonight? and if so, how is he doing?

Moderator please !

Barsk

Indy's game was rained out tonight so no one pitched for them

Through 5 innings morton has given up just 3 hits and no runs

The Barsk Effect...according to Gameday, Morton has pitched 5 innings so far, given up 3 hits, 0 Runs, 0 Walks, 3 K's.  His ERA currently is at 2.33

There's no score vs. Lehigh Valley, middle of the 5th.  Indy, by comparison right now, only has 1 hit.

It's a scoreless game.

hey.. thanks DMac i really appreciate it

ok i just found were to find it...

morton is up to 6 ks now!

Hmm--Guess the Bucs web site is not up to date

Stats on Morton

web.minorleaguebaseball.com/.../stats.jsp

Current Indy game

web.minorleaguebaseball.com/.../stats.jsp

Barsk...Anytime.  I like the Minor League baseball site too...it's set up nicely, I think.

silly me should have gone to Indy web site instead

Morton tonight so far: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6K, 0BB. Nice looking line so far. Of course, Indy hasn't scored either. Proving once again that the FO is right. There is virtually no talent in this organization beyond their core at the major league level. If you want to be competitive at all during our lifetimes, they've got to double or triple the talent they have by trading that core. I trust the FO for now.

Nate's debut in Atlanta has been postponed due to rain. Yes, I was going to watch...sorry.  

JHadar -

I on the other hand AM a baseball expert. I understand the blogger/bulletin board mentality though as I got my feet wet back in '98 on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 message boards. It was good training and taught me alot about message board etiquette.

I like that you have emphasized that it's okay to be opinionated and rant as long you have respect for the fellow posters. That is something that so few seem to learn.

Calling someone an idiot because others dont see things the way they do is not only childish but also guaranteed to alienate.

---

As much time as it takes to make a post is also all the time it takes to make an avatar and stick to one persona.

The gray men have a right to post however they want, but they must do so with the understanding that they will be taken less seriously because they come off as fly-by-night anonymous posters who are afraid of anyone pinning them down on anything. It's that way on any message board and has always been that way.

Thanks all for the kind words -- hitting the road in the morning and for the next week or so will probably be a bit invisible, but will try to check in when I can.

Bay -- You will enjoy yourself.

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

I will not get excited about Morton until he does something in the majors.  I remember JVB and how good he looked in AA and then so bad in MLB.

Safe travels, JH!

I hope to meet again...maybe with Mrs. H along.

Yeah, Nate would have a nice debut tonight if not for the rain.

Now he has to debut against the very hard to hit Yovani Gallardo.

I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Moskos won tonight for Altoona. 5 IP, 8H, 2 ER, 4BB, 5K. Not sure how you win with a WHIP like that, but there you have it.

Peachy!  Nate has to see Cryin' Ryan right off?  Ugh!

Gallardo is tough...we played him tough.  Isn't that the game they won because Gallardo hit the HR?

And to complete the Minor league update...both West Virginia and Lynchburg were rained out. :-)

JAL...actually, I went to MiLB.com and got the Gameday link there.

Pig Legs

The gray men do have a right to post.  I just try to show them that an avatar adds a lot and makes things easier.  There have been several instances where some asked a question that required going back through some posts to answer.  Finding a specific post is much easier with an avatar.  For example, there 114 post on the morning link and it took me about 1 minute to find that diehard had two of those posts.  If I was looking for a gray man I would still scrolling through the posts.

You had no posts on that thread.

Looks like after six complete, Mr. Morton has 7 Ks now, and only 1 walk in six innings ... I'm impressed. Still 0-0, though.

Dmac

yes--the only run of the game was Gallardo's HR--That was April 29--probably Snell's best pitched game--also the one he threw 131 pitches in.

The Mets announcers remarked at how little McCutchen looks. He does look amazingly small doesn't he? They have him listed at 5-11, 175 pounds ... It must be all muscle because it doesn't really look like he'd weigh more than 160 pounds.

Three hits in the first game for the Tribe and now three hits in the second game thus far, uggh.  I wonder if Morton got up at 330am like Cutch had to today?

Yeah DMac, thats the game (Gallardo).

----

I think with Morton it will take all of this year in the big leagues before he really sees great results. I think next year is when Morton will shine, as it seems like he needs an adjustment period at each level he has risen to. I think thats how it will be for Ohlendorf too. Next year is when we will really see Ohlendorf do his thing.

Some guys are like that, but it's not a bad thing. Look how long it took Maholm to settle in. It was well worth it because there's no going backwards for Paul. Him and Duke are a good one-two punch, and next year hopefully it will be a 1-2-3-4 punch.

I don't hold out much hope for Snell though. I think Lincoln will be the 5th guy next year.

I have only gotten through part of the replay...first inning...and it's nice to see the absence of the No Triples D.  I loved the way AMac played the ball off the wall too.

Great trade.  I said McLouth had the best five tools among Pirates in winter of 2007-08 before becoming a regular and with Bay/Nady still patrolling the outfield.  I saw McCutcheon go 5 for 5 this spring at Bradenton against the Phils with a HR and 3 doubles---all shots to the wall in left and left center with the homer just looked at by the Phils left fielder.  Today, I saw Andrew cut off a drive to right center by a decent runner and hold him to a double with a quick pivot and throw.  McLouth doesn't make that play and the ball rolls to the wall.  While an excellent fielder, Nate's late breaks and errant and lollipop throws will not be missed.  While Nate may be great, McCutcheon exudes ballplayer both in the field and at the plate.  We liked Nate.  We're gonna luv Andrew.  

Baywatch,

I didn't see the game, so I'll take your word for it re: McCutchen's size, but it's an interesting point, as he's 22 years old, will probably fill out some, and the power will come.  I'm confident of that point.

Interesting tidbit from Baseball Prospectus regarding Sano.

"The Pirates have been said to think, like many talent evaluators, that Sano is the best Latin prospect in years; this is why it’s no secret that nearly every Latin insider thinks Pittsburgh will end up with Sano."

Let's hope so.

Did we blow up the server again? With almost 900 posts today, I'm not surprised.

Uglyken it sure was hard getting back in after the games tonight.

Pirates win Pens win we lose Nate what a day but two out of three ain't bad.

With that I am out for the night.  later all.

Didn't know if anyone posted this yet ... It's a REALLY COOL picture of Andrew McCutchen with post-game shaving cream all over his face ... a first-game ritual of some sort.

www.cbssports.com/.../MLB_20090604_NYM@PIT

Nice, Bay!  Thanks for posting that!

Indy wins a shutout.Morton throws 7 scoreless innings

7 IP 4 H  1 BB 7 Ks  2.26 ERA

Pretty terrible performance as part of the McClouth trade.Yeah right!! :)

OK.......how soon can we get Morton into the rotation?

I haven't posted since April so I figure now is a good time to jump back in. I went to today's game with my two friends, we left my house with more than enough time. However we missed the north side detour off 65. Then got stuck in Pittsburgh traffic, came back to the North side. By this the game was in the second inning.

A cop near the science center tells us to go back to the city since all the lots are full. Then we tried finding parking in the city, every garage is filled. We tried pulling into one near the Byham, the attendant let the car in front of us in, then told us that was the last spot. So we finally found a spot in the Strip District.

By the time we got to the park it was 2:20 and the fourth had just ended. Then the last 4.5 innings went really quickly. We were only in the stadium about 85 minutes.

Anyways, McCutchen was really exciting to watch. Let's hope this is the start of great things from him. I was really wowed by his speed. He can flat out fly. I was also encouraged by the bullpen, everyone did a pretty decent job covering up a bad start by Ollie. Let's hope the Bucs have a good weekend, get two out of 3!

Granted, I'm coming off a high ... but I like our chances against Hampton tomorrow night!

BTW, me and Mrs. Bay are driving to Houston early Sunday morning to join two of our other Asylum-Texas Branch members, Chicken on the Hill with Will and Frustrated 314, for the Sunday afternoon game.

Will make sure to post some photos.

GortAndRobot

Too bad about missing so much of the game. The cop should of dirrected you toward Allegheny Center Mall. It has a huge parking garrage that is rearly filled, and is only a few blocks away.

Here's a very interesting series of photos of Carlos Beltran while talking to reporters after the game. The other party in the last picture is Bronson Arroyo.

cornerstork.files.wordpress.com/.../crying_baby.jpg

badadvice.typepad.com/.../6a00d8341c94c853ef01116855aea2970c-800wi

charliek92.files.wordpress.com/.../crying-baby.jpg

www.vagabondish.com/.../crying-sumo-babies.jpg

That was a VERY nice play by Andy!  He fielded the behind the bag, momentum carrying him into foul ground.  He had to have been at least 5 feet in foul territory by the time he threw across the diamond to Adam.  It was a LONG throw.

@UglyKen - "OK.......how soon can we get Morton into the rotation?"

Uh ... You wouldn't happen to want Snell out of the rotation, would you? :-) ... Just playin' with you, Ugly. You've been very articulate in the way you've suggested it's time for Snell to step aside.

Bout ready to hit it ... Have a Hades of a night!

Bay...... Hampton has taken us for 8 in a row......he can't keep that up..........WE WILL WIN.......this team is mad and they're not going to take it any more.

Steve Pearce with a walkoff double for Indy, too.

@Baywatch Jr. - "Here's a very interesting series of photos of Carlos Beltran while talking to reporters after the game. The other party in the last picture is Bronson Arroyo."

I'm so proud of this poster, I'm just bustin' my vest!

Bay we had the most productive outfield in the majors for part of last year, and it got us nowhere because of the poor pitching. I think that our future looks btighter now that the pitching is better, but it isn't good enough yet.

Poor Carlos wants to take his ball and go home

;-)

Good night, everyone...Catch you all tomorrow.

ants marching

=================================

Good night DMac

Ants Marching============================

www.youtube.com/watch

If I was the next Pirate to start against the Mets, I'm immediately putting one in Beltran's ear...

...how DARE he or anyone mouth off in the press about my ball club after being swept!!!

Clemente looked small but played BIG.  McCutcheon impresses the same way.  I calls it "a baseball frame"---a lithe, strong, coordinated and marvelously constructed baseball machine.  In other words, "an 'A' frame made for baseball".