Game 70: Cleveland Indians (29-42) v. Pittsburgh Pirates (31-38) MLB 09 Prediction

Now that my summer vacation from work is in full swing, it is time I get back into the habit of posting my MLB 09 The Show Game Predictions. This will be the first one in quite sometime. I apologize for not getting more up, but whatever, it's not like people read this blog anyhow.

Tonight, the Pittsburgh Pirates will host the Cleveland Indians in Interleague play. The Pirates have not done well in Interleague play (67-108 if I count correctly). They are 4-5 this year in Interleague play. However, this year, they have done well at home (17-12). They are also coming off a 4 game losing streak, which includes a 3-game sweep by the red hot Colorado Rockies.

The Indians are not faring much better than the Pirates. They have a wrose record, are coming in on a 6 game losing streak, and have done worse than the Pirates this year in Interleague play (3-6). Overall, they are 111-108. The Indians are on a 6 game losing streak. Both teams are due of some wins.

Based on the game I played this morning, the Indians will win tonight's game. I've gone supergeek with this and printed off scorecards for each team. It'll save a lot of typing time.





















Click images to read them.

Lets Go Bucs!

Two Disappointing Losses & A Look At Pitching

The Pirates seem to have continued their downward trend from last year after trading a big name player in the franchise. The last two losses to the Braves have really had to be tough pills to swallow for the Buccos.

First, to come back in such a manner as they did on Monday night, only to lose ini 15 innings is heartbreaking. Jeff Karstens, welcome to the world of Ryan Vogelsong. You will forever be a mop-up guy in the bullpen. It's a shame you cannot recapture that dominating presence you had back when you were first traded here.

Last night was another disappointing loss. Ross Ohlendorf pitched a good game. Poor thinking by Delwyn Young (still like this guy though) and awful pitching by Sean Burnett cost the Pirates this game. Why Russell would choose to go with Burnett is beyond me. In a situation like this, you need to bring in your best pitcher in the bullpen. I think leaving Gorzo out there for another inning wouldn't have hurt either. He may have been up in the batting order so maybe that's why he didn't stay in.

To be honest I didn't watch too much of the game. I was too busy watching the Pens game.

Moving on to pitching. I'm glad to see that the pitching rotation has been shaken up a bit. More needs to be done though. Neal Huntington and John Russell take note, this is what your pitching rotation and bullpen should look like by the end of the trade deadline or next year.

First, the rotation
1. Maholm - He's been a little shaky recently, but still a solid #1 or #2 guy for this team.
2. Duke - Has been the most consistant and, in my opinion, best pitcher all year. He is in the same boat as Maholm.
3. Morton - If he is as good for the Pirates as he has been in AAA, he will show everyone that the McLouth deal was well worth it.
4. Ohlendorf - Just a solid 3/4 guy.
5. Karstens - A typical #5 guy. Could easily be swapped out at any point for guys like Gorzo, McCutchen, Dumatrait.

Now the bullpen
1. Gorzo - easily the best option for long relief/spot starts. He has been really good out of the pen.
2. Snell - If he's not in AAA starting, he could be a good bullpen option. He's good enough to give you 1 or 2 innings of work. Possibly a SUPERSTAR closer.
3. Meek - Hard thrower, good enough to be a set up man, not quite closer material.
4. Capps - Closer for now, unless he develops another pitch or gets some movement on his fastballs, he's not the long-term solution for this position.
5. Chavez - He has been a solid pitcher all year. A great middle guy.
6. Jackson - Big sinker ball pitcher. I haven't seen him do too many dumb things to really be down on him.
7. Burnett - He's been better this year than some of the games he's recently played in. I feel her could be a good specialist pitcher.

I made this list without seeing some of the other options we have currently in AAA. I'm sure that once call-ups happen in September, I could end up making some changes on this list.

Impressed With McCutch Not So Impressed With Parking

I made sure I kept my ticket in perfect condition. I didn't sit on it and I barely had it in my pocket the entire day. I wanted to make sure that I kept this particular game ticket in good condition. I believe that today's game has marked the beginning of the turn around for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Say what you want about last year's trades. Say what you want about the hiring of Frank Coonley and Neal Huntington. This, my friends and loyal readers, marks the beginning of the oh so bright future for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andrew McCutchen couldn't have asked for a better start to his MLB career. He went 2-4, walked, scored a couple of runs, stole a base, and batted in a run. It seems like this trade had less of a defeating impact opn the clubhouse than the trades of Nady, Marte, and Bay last year.

I do not see this team slowing down any time soon.

Granted, the power is not there. But, you don't necessarly need power to win games. How many times this year have we seen the Pirates win simply by getting hits when it mattered and by hitting to where the defenders are not located? I saw it happen with Colorado, it happened several times today as well. These Pirates are a better team than they were last year, and will only continue to get better as difficult trades are made, and prospects are brought up.

As I was coming home from the game today, I was listening to Extra Innings with Rocco. This guy is such a stats geek. He has crunched the numbers and has proven that despite the All-Star nomination and Gold Glove, McLouth wasn't that great of a player. I really like this trade, and I really like where the Pirates are heading.

Now, I must report that I missed the first four innings of today's game. Why? Well I drove around for nearly 2 hours trying to find some place to park. Every lot I went to was "Lease Only". I eventually found a space in a garage in downtown. From here on out, I will be using a bus to make my way to weekday afternoon Pirates games.

My Official Stance on the Nate McLouth Trade

It was almost like a dream last night. I logged onto Facebook and saw one of my friends posting something about the Pirates trading Nate McLouth. I quickly went to my source for news and comments on the Pirates and within 2 hours, the message board topic was 10 pages long and growing ever so quickly. I never expected to be reading news like this...at least not at this point in time.

This morning, it has sunk in that Nate McLouth, the new face of the franchise, is gone. An autographed baseball, an All-Star Bobblehead, autographed bat, and signed painting. All will now be collectors items of one of the core players signed to a long term contract earlier this year. Will Paul Maholm and Ryan Doumit face a similar fate?

While I'm disappointed that McLouth is gone, I have to agree with a lot of comments I've read. He is not, and should not, be the type of player you build a team around. Pedro Alvarez is (hopefully). Nate McLouth, while very good, is at best a complimentary piece to a successful club.

This very well could be the final straw though for fans. They are sick of seeing the same thing happen over and over again. Good players traded for unproved prospects. I really believe that attendance will take a serious blow from this, in the long term.

Fans will be excited to see Andrew McCutchen get his first MLB start today. I hope, for his sake and the sake of the front office, that he does well today. I will be there and I hope to have pictures to post on here later tonight. Once the initial excitment of McCutchen wears off, the attendance will drop off and anger will grow. Unless, of course, the Buccos win. In which case, this will be viewed by the casual fan as a good thing.

As was said last year so many times...only time will tell.

I'll be at the game, sitting in 138. As with Jason Bay, I hope Nate tears it up in ATL, unless they are playing the Pirates of course.

Lets Go Bucs. Lets Go McCutch.

I'm Sorry...

It's been over 1 month since I have last updated this thing. For loyal followers, I apologize, as I have been extremely busy with work. It's the end of the school year and I have been trying to wrap some things up at work. Now that the end of the year is quickly coming, I hope to get back to several of my regular features, including MLB The Show game predictions, commentary on current Bucco and baseball news, and whatever else may come up.

I'm expecting two posts today. Check back later for some updates.

Let's Go Bucs!