Predicting Pirates’ Chances For Success in 2013

November 21st, 2012 Justin Welton Posted in Main

SportsBetting.AG doesn’t have the early odds for the 2013 MLB season but let’s predict what the Pirates’ chances of playing .500 baseball, making the postseason and winning the World Series.

Playing .500 Baseball: 25 percent

25 percent isn’t great but it’s a pretty good number for the Pirates. This is where I would have them right now.

Making Playoffs: 10 percent

Pittsburgh was close to making the postseason before its big collapse so the likelihood they make another run is better than any time this century. Still, however, the chances of them making the postseason are slim but you never know.

Winning World Series: 2 percent

Not much of a chance here but there is a lot that can happen from now until then.

 

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Pirates Option Justin Wilson, Kyle McPherson; Recall Daniel McCutchen, Reinstate Chad Qualls – Bucs Dugout

August 21st, 2012 Justin Welton Posted in Roster Moves

Pirates Option Justin Wilson, Kyle McPherson; Recall Daniel McCutchen, Reinstate Chad Qualls – Bucs Dugout.

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Kevin Correia’s Run In Pittsburgh Coming To An End?

June 13th, 2012 ICat Posted in Opinions
Car-go Goes Yard Off Correia

A lot of the Pittsburgh Pirates success this season has stemmed from the stellar pitching performances delivered by not only the starting rotation but the bullpen as well. The weakest link of the rotation has been Kevin Correia.

Since coming over from San Diego in 2011, Kevin Correia has been unsettling to say the least. Correia has a 14-16 record to this point of his Pirates career. In 2011, Correia was one of; if not the most dominate pitchers for the Pirates on the road boosting a 10-3 record with a 2.64 ERA in 88.2IP.

However, in the pitcher friendly confines of PNC Park, Correia was 2-8 with a 7.71 ERA in 65.1IP. It was quite possibly the single most confusing things to anyone that not only follows the Pirates, but baseball in general.

As everyone thought coming into the 2012 season that Correia was going to be able to figure out his struggles at home and still be an unhittable force on the road. Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case, and I have the need to write this article about his continued downfall.

Before tonight’s outing in Baltimore, Correia has been the “let’s see if he can get through this one” starter for the Pirates. That might be a little too much, but let’s face it. You know you’ve had the same thought when reading his name as the probable starter. Either way, the title hasn’t been lifted.

While Correia hasn’t picked up a win (0-2) in his four starts at PNC Park this season, Correia has a lower “home” ERA at 4.10 in 26.1IP. His performance on the road has taken a step off the ledge.

In seven starts on the road, Correia has posted a record of 2-4. Against Baltimore, Correia’s struggles continued, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits through 6IP, watching his season ERA rise to 4.43, the highest by any active pitcher on the team. Only Charlie Morton (4.65) and Jeff Karstens (4.50) have higher ERA as a starting pitcher.

Correia has allowed 12 home runs this season, with half of them coming on the road.

The continued lack of success and with no signs of any improvement has to make one think that a change has to be made. Whether it’s sending him to the bullpen, which isn’t a place for someone with 25 strikeouts belongs, sending him to Indy to open up a space for Jeff Karstens who is set to return within the week, or look for a team to make a deal with.

Bottom line: a change needs to be made and Correia’s time is running out in Pittsburgh.

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Jeff Karstens Removed From Rehab Start

June 7th, 2012 Justin Welton Posted in Injuries, Main, On The Farm

Photo credit: ESPN

According to the Pittsburgh Pirates twitter feed, Pirates’ starter Jeff Karstens was removed from his rehab start with tightness in his groin. He will be treated and evaluated tonight and again tomorrow.

Jeff Karstens was removed from rehab start after feeling tightness in R groin.; will be treated and evaluated tonight and again tomorrow..

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 8, 2012

 

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Brad Lincoln Improves to 3-0 With Victory over Florida Marlins

May 15th, 2012 Justin Welton Posted in Game Stories, Main

Pittsburgh Pirates’ starter Brad Lincoln continues to impress when given the opportunity to step on the mound. Monday night against the Florida Marlins, in a start, Lincoln shined again allowing two runs on four hits in six innings pitched.

It was his third victory of the season.

Pittsburgh only managed six hits, but it was the timeliness of those hits that made the difference. Pedro Alvarez’s double in the sixth inning is the perfect example.

Two innings after Florida tied the score at two, Alvarez doubled to deep center. The double scored Andrew McCutchen.

Pittsburgh wouldn’t look back after that, holding on to the one-run advantage. Solid pitching mixed with timely hitting is how you wins games when your offense doesn’t have the fire-power as most of the teams in the MLB.

Joel Hanrahan added his seventh save of the season in a perfect ninth frame.

Pirates Boxscore:

Jose Tabata 1-4

Neil Walker 0-4

Andrew McCutchen 1-3, RBI

Pedro Alvarez 1-4, RBI

Casey McGehee 0-3, BB

Alex Presley 0-3, BB

Rod Barajas 2-3, RBI

Clint Barmes 1-3

Brad Lincoln 0-2

Yamaico Navarro 0-1

Pittsburgh will be looking to get back to .500 with a win on Tuesday night.

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Pittsburgh Pirates Ride Walk-Off Wins to Series Victories Over Nationals and Astros

May 14th, 2012 Drew Karpen Posted in Game Stories, Main, Opinions

Fans began to slowly trickle out of the stadium on the rainy and gloomy Mother’s Day game between the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park yesterday, with little to cheer about.

The Pirates offense looked like they were going to waste another spectacular start by starter A.J. Burnett, trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth.  Neil Walker’s second double of the game put the potential tying run 90-feet away in Jose Tabata.

With a runner on third and less than two outs, it was anything but guaranteed that Pittsburgh would deliver the tying run, but they did.  Third basemen Pedro Alvarez tied the game up with a sacrifice fly.

After three scoreless innings by the Pirates bullpen, Pittsburgh gave the remaining fans at the game a nice Mother’s day treat.  With two out and no one on, shortstop Clint Barmes hit a blooper for a double over the third basemen’s head.  On the very next pitch, utility infielder Josh Harrison would send the Astros packing with a walk-off line drive single to left field.

The walk-off win gave the Pirates a 2-1 series victory over Houston, and their second series victory of the week.

The Pirates began the week in the same fashion they closed it out, with a walk-off win.  Pittsburgh hosted the Washington Nationals for a three game series that started on Tuesday, May 8.

Burnett was also the starter in this game, keeping the Pirates all the way in it until the last inning.  Burnett struck out a season-high 10 hitters and allowed two runs.  After falling behind 2-0, Pittsburgh quickly tied it up with two solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Andrew McCutchen led off the frame with his first home run of the season.  After two quick outs, Garret Jones followed with a towering shot into the right field seats to tie it up.

The game remained scoreless heading into the bottom of the eighth, where the Pirates made their move.  After a leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Nate McLouth, Jose Tabata reached base on an error by the shortstop Ian Desmond trying to cover second base with the hit-and-run call on.  With runners on the corners and no outs, Walker gave the Pirates their first lead of the game, on a sacrifice fly.

With a 3-2 lead entering the ninth, the win was looking secured with closer Joel Hanrahan coming in.  The Nationals had other plans.  With the meat of their order coming up, they found a way to retake the lead.  After a leadoff single by third basement Ryan Zimmerman, who was just reactivated from the disabled list before the game, former Bucco Adam Laroche belted a two-run home run to centerfield.

As soon as he made contact, it seemed like half the stadium exited the field before the ball did.  With the fans disgusted with what looked to be another tough loss, the offense made sure they would give the remaining fans a night to remember.

Casey McGehee led off the ninth with a fly out to right field.  With one out, Alex Presley stepped up to the plate and delivered a pinch-hit single.  Manager Clint Hurdle called upon another pinch-hitter, Yamaico Navarro, to replace Barmes.  Navarro quickly fell behind 0-2, but then things got interesting.  Nationals closer Henry Rodriquez threw consecutive wild pitches, allowing Presley to scamper from first to third.  Navarro would then strike out, leaving the fate of the Pirates on the shoulders of Rod Barajas.

With a runner on third and two outs, Barajas wasted no time with Rodriquez.  On the first pitch of the at-bat, Barajas took Rodriquez’s offering over the left field wall for a walk-off two-run home run.  The home run was the first of the year for Barajas.

With the momentum on their side, Pittsburgh took game two of the series, 4-2, giving them the series win no matter the outcome on Thursday.

It was a good thing they were able to take the first two games with Washington sending out their star pitcher Stephen Strasburg on Thursday.  The last time Strasburg faced Pittsburgh was his major league debut, where he struck out 14 batters.

Pittsburgh got a dose of the same medicine, with Strasburg striking out 13 batters, on their way to a 4-2 victory.

Besides Strasburg’s stellar performance, it was the first time Pittsburgh had the opportunity to witness 19-year-old phenom Bryce Harper in person.  Harper struggled throughout the three game series, going 2-12 with two runs scored.

Andrew McCutchen had himself a standout week with three home runs and two four-hit games.

After finishing off a nine game home stand, Pittsburgh will begin their seven game road trip in Miami on Monday.  It will be the Pirates first trip into Miami’s new ballpark.

Brad Lincoln (2-0, 0.63) will get the spot start in place of Erik Bedard who left Wednesday’s game with back spasms.  Bedard’s start will be pushed back to Wednesday in Washington.  Lincoln will be opposed by Anibal Sanchez (2-0, 2.01).  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Phot Credit: Daylife.com

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Pirates’ Josh Harrison Delivers Game-Winning RBI in 12th Inning

May 13th, 2012 Justin Welton Posted in Game Stories, Main

For eight innings of Sunday’s game with the Houston Astros, it appeared that the Pirates were going to lose in a similar fashion to most of their losses this season—lack of offensive production.

Finally, after another dismal performance at the dish, especially with A.J. Burnett on the hill, the Pirates broke through with a sacrifice fly from Pedro Alvarez. The run took Burnett off the hook and gave the Pirates new life.

Josh Harrison would step to the plate in the 12th inning to deliver Pittsburgh’s 16th win of the season. His single knocked in Clint Barmes.

Pittsburgh’s Tony Watson picked up the victory and Fernando Rodriguez was tagged with the loss for Houston.

Pirates Boxscore:

Jose Tabata 0-4, BB
Neil Walker 2-5
Andrew McCutchen 1-4, RBI, BB
Pedro Alvarez 1-4, RBI
Casey McGehee 0-2, BB
Yamaico Navarro 0-3
Rod Barajas 1-4
Alex Presley 0-2
James McDonald 0-1
Clint Barmes 1-1
Josh Harrison 1-4, RBI
A.J. Burnett 0-2
Garrett Jones 0-1
Michael McKenry 0-1

 

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Pittsburgh Pirates Struggle Against Divisional Opponents

May 7th, 2012 Drew Karpen Posted in Game Stories, Main

Up until this week, the Pittsburgh Pirates were the only team in the majors to not score more than five runs in a game.  That streak ended on Monday, April 30, in Pittsburgh’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves.  The offense exploded for nine runs on their way to splitting the four game series, with a 9-3 victory.

Pittsburgh, hoping their outburst would carry over to St. Louis, was getting ready to play their second series in as many weeks against the Cardinals.  They didn’t have too much to worry about, as the offense erupted for seven runs in the series opener against the Cardinals.  The only problem, the pitching never showed up this time.

Charlie Morton lasted 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits.  The bullpen didn’t fare any better, giving up the rest of the 10 St. Louis runs.

Pittsburgh took another crack at St. Louis the next night, but with little success.  After two quality starts to begin his Pirates’ career, veteran pitcher A.J. Burnett had an outing to forget.

In their 12-3 loss, Burnett was responsible for all 12 runs in 2.2 innings pitched.  Burnett’s kryptonite proved to be Carlos Beltran.  Beltran belted two three-run home runs, with an RBI single sandwiched in-between.  All of Beltran’s seven RBI came in the first three innings.

Former closer turned starter, Lance Lynn, picked up the win, improving to 5-0 on the year.

After losing the first two games of the series, Pittsburgh would try to salvage the final game.  Things didn’t look promising, after falling behind 2-0 in the first inning.  Piratesn starter Erik Bedard seemed to find his rhythm, as well as the offense.

The Pirates would score in each of the final four innings, to hang on for a 6-3 victory.  Pedro Alvarez continued to swing a hot bat, smashing his second home run of the series and seventh of the season.  Bedard would register his second victory in his as many starts, improving his record to 2-4.

After the seven game road trip, Pittsburgh returned home for a weekend series against National League Central foe, the Cincinnati Reds.

On Friday night, the Pirates offense hit another road block, falling to the Reds 6-1.  Kevin Correia continued his woes at home, taking the loss.

Pittsburgh got its revenge on Saturday night, with a 3-2 victory.  The game remained scoreless heading into the bottom of the fourth, when second basemen Neil Walker broke his homerless streak with his first of the season.  The two-run home run guaranteed the Pirates would not fall behind in the game.  Another contributing factor was the performance by James McDonald.

McDonald lasted 6.1 innings, allowing only one run and striking out seven.  The win improved McDonald to 2-1 on the year with a 2.70 ERA.

Pittsburgh got a little insurance off the bench, when Alex Presley hit his second home run of the season.  With a one run lead, closer Joel Hanrahan slammed the door, picking up his fifth save of the season.

The Pirates finished off their series against the Reds on Sunday, May 6.  The rubber game was anything but kind to the Buccos.  Once again, the Pirates’ offense struggled to get anything going, on their way to a 5-0 loss.  The loss was the second of the week for Morton.

After a 3-4 week, Pittsburgh finds themselves at 12-16, putting themselves in fifth place and five games back of St. Louis in the NL Central.

Pittsburgh will enjoy their off day on Monday before they play host to the NL East leading Washington Nationals on Tuesday.  Burnett will attempt to get back on track with the start tomorrow.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Photo Credit: Daylife.com

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