Good, Bad, and Ugly All In One Game

It looked like the Pirates were going to get rocked today. Turns out that it was only Tom Gorzelanny and Chris Bootcheck that were rocked. The Buccos put up a decent effort, but lost to the Red Sox 15-14 in 10 innings.

Gorzo is starting to look a lot like Gorzo of 2008. Horrible. With the numbers he currently has, it'll be a miracle if he makes the starting rotation on April 6th. He currently has a 7.50 ERA and leads the team in walks. Definately not the 14-10 pitcher of 2007 that everyone was hoping for.

It looks like Tyler Yates, Craig Hansen, and Sean Burnett all pitched well. Jose Tabata went 3 for 3 and hit a game tying double.

Indeed it was a tale of two stories today.

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It looks like Brandon Moss will be able to start on Opening Day. His thumb injury doesn't seem to be as serious as first thought.

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Romulo Sanchez was the biggest name of the first cuts for the spring. This is an obvious attempt by Pirates management to keep the Vote for Romulo campaign down! We will not back down and we will not stop. A Vote for Romulo update and campaign push will begin when I start to post some serious posts and not these half-assed posts.

I Still Can't Believe My Eyes

I still cannot believe what I am seeing the the Grapefruit League standings. Ten games into Spring Training games, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are tied for first with a 7-3 record. Their offense has also scored 55 runs this season (5.5 RPG). Opponents have scored 43 runs (4.3 RPG). The fact that the Pirates have been scoring 1.2 runs more per game COULD be a good sign for the upcoming season. It's only 10 games, a very small sample size, but still encouraging.

I know that it's only Spring Training and that most of the pitchers we are facing late in the games are more than likely career minor league pitchers, but who knows. There are a lot of people on this team now that have that "winning culture" attitude them. And that is something the team so badly needed. And if it does not pan out this year, as most people expect, surely the Pirates will be looking forward to the 2010 or 2011 seasons. That's when a lot of these younger guys will be making their presence known at PNC Park. However, I feel that this is finally the year in which the team will make a turn for the better and improve on their 67 wins from last year.

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It looks like Eric Hinske will be getting a lot of playing time this April. Brandon Moss, who was a lock to be a starting right fielder, injured his right thumb yesterday against the Twins. A MRI and all of that good stuff will be done to determine the extent of the injury. here's to hoping that Moss can get through this with some R&R and not have surgery. A major injury like this would be a huge blow to the Pirates upcoming season. I am confident though having Hinske as a back-up.

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I am trying to decide whether or not I want to purchase one of the new jerseys for the upcoming season. If I do get one, I know it'll probably end up being either the home or away jersey. Then, I don't know whether I should get #55 or #58 on it. Or, should I just wear the Bobby Hill BP jersey I bought a few years back at PirateFest?

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A lot of debate over the decision as to whether or not the Buccos should bring in Pedro Martinez as a back of the rotation guy. Sure he'd bring in some more fans and he could end up regaining some of his form from previous years, but is it worth the financial risk? Would he even sign with the Pirates? It was said that Pedro could go for 2-3 million. The Pirates could pay slightly higher than that to try and get him. I don't know if it is worth the risk. A good discussion can be found on the Unofficial Pirates Message Board.

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Japan is going to mow through the WBC. No doubt in my mind. Expect the Netherlands to be a surprise.

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All is quiet now, but expect another large push for the Vote for Romulo campaign in the upcoming weeks. The deadline to vote is April 30th.

Let's Go Bucs
Vote for Romulo!

Spring Training Game 1: Phillies @ Pirates

The Pirates hosted the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon in Bradenton. Buccos topped the Phils 8-2 in a rather impressive pitching and offensive showing. I know, it was a lot of minor league players and relief pitchers...no superstars batting 3-4 times a game, so on and so on.

Mind you, I only listened to the game from the 8th inning on, so most of my opinions will be based off of what I read on the box score.

Chris Bootcheck seemed to pitch well. That's about it.

Matt Capps had some difficulties and was the only pitcher of the 9 Pirates that went out on the mound to walk batters. It was like a flashback to Opening Day last year in Atlanta. He'll get his control issues figured out though.

Romulo allowed the first run of the day for the Pirates. Still no real harm as the Pirates would come back to score in the bottom of the 3rd.

Shelby Ford. Remember that name, because one day, I think he's going to be a GREAT baseball player. He cracked a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 4th, the first and only of the game. Plus, doesn't Shelby Ford sound like such a great baseball name?

Evan Meek sounded solid today. Jesse Chavez...not so much.

I know this is a very small sample size, however, I do feel pretty encouraged by what I have seen and heard today.

Tim Neverett sounds like a stereotypical baseball/sports broadcaster. I think he fills Lanny's shoes rather nicely...except for he doesn't quite have the passion that Lanny had.

It'll be interesting to see how the extended ST plays out.

Pirates improve to 1-0 on the season.

Let's Go Bucs!
Vote for Romulo

Word is Spreading

Thanks to the fine folks at Bucs Dugout.com. The word about my Vote for Romulo campaign is spreading. It's also in the comments section of this morning's PBC Blog.

Let's Go Bucs!

VOTE ROMULO!!!

Bobbleheads...they are a staple at PNC Park. Any season where less than12 bobbleheads are given away is considered a bad PR season and almost a guarantee to have record low attendance at the ballpark.

However, this year, I expect the largest turn out EVER for a bobblehead night. On Friday, September 25, the Pirates will be giving away a bobblehead that the fans get to choose.

My shelf is full of bobbleheads featuring well known and respected players. It's time to give the no name bullpen pitchers some credit. That is why I am beginning my grassroots campaign right here, right now to have the Romulo Sanchez bobblehead.

Click here to write in Romulo Sanchez as the 2009 Fans Vote Bobblehead. You have until April 30th.

Let's Go Bucs!

Edit: I've created a Facebook Group. Join and spread the word!
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photo credit: Romulo Sanchez - pirates.com

The First...The Last???

Let me start by saying that I feel as if I am a horrible writer. Let me also say, that aside from physical comedy and the occasional one liners, I'm horrible at keeping people's attention and making things exciting.

Now that I've shared all of that information, thus discrediting anything I say on here and scaring off just about everyone from reading this blog, let me share some of my hopes and dreams for this thing.

I'm hoping to update this on a regular basis, starting tonight, on the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates. Inspired by Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke and Dejan Kovacevic's posts on the Post-Gazette web site, I want to be able to share with the world the views of a season ticket holder who isn't obsessed with the Pirates or baseball in general, but into them enough, and loyal enough to drop $1600 a year for the past 4 years to be considered a die-hard fan by most people I know.

I'm looking forward to what, without doubt, will be another long season on this journey to the number 17. No doubt, there will be nights where I feel like sticking a screwdriver into my temple, or Sunday afternoons in July and August where I am asking myself, "Why the hell am I sitting on these hot metal bleachers sweating my balls off", as the Pirates will more than likely be losing yet another Sunday afternoon game.

We will see how long this lasts. Does anyone want to place an over/under on the number of games I'll make it through? Will I even make it to Spring Training? Time will tell.

The annual PiratesFest convention will be going on this weekend at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. For the second time in about 3 years, the Pirates will be announcing a new alternate jersey, ending the reign of terror of the red jersey. A lot of people, players included, HATED, these things. Initially, I wasn't a fan of the red jersey, however, over the past year or so, they started to grow on me. Not to worry though...these red jerseys will forever be immortalized on an Adam LaRoche bobble head. I am sure that many fans will be dancing in the streets knowing that by the end of the 2009 campaign, Adam LaRoche and the red jerseys will be gone from the organization.

I am going to try to update this blog over the next few days to share my opinions about some of the things that have happened with the team recently, including my outlook for the '09 season. I may even post pictures from my trip to PiratesFest on Sunday.

Let's Go Bucs!

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photo credit: Romulo Sanchez flanked by David Davidson walking to the bullpen. Me.