Marlins 10, Pirates 4

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 21, 2008 9:52 PM EDT

Again, not much to love about this one. The Pirates allowed ten or more runs for the third consecutive game which, the Pirates' announcers reported, is the first time they've done that since 1994. Matt Morris proved, yet again, that he's toast; he didn't look sharp, fooled no one, and got pasted for eight runs in four innings. Then Franquelis Osoria came in and didn't pitch well, either, although at least Evan Meek got in two scoreless innings at the end of the game. The Pirates' rotation is quickly becoming Ian Snell and four days of hell - they desperately need Paul Maholm or Tom Gorzelanny to step up, because right now they're pretty much punting every fifth game when Morris goes out there. Morris has now started four times and allowed 25 runs, and the Bucs have lost all four games he's played, by a total of 22 runs.

It's hard to fault the offense much for failing to score eleven runs to win this one, even with a chump like Mark Hendrickson on the mound. On the bright side, there were no errors, and Nate McLouth kept his hitting streak alive with a single in the bottom of the eighth. Unfortunately, the Bucs only had one extra-base hit (a double), and Adam LaRoche went hitless yet again.

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ugh

just got back from this one. the only positive things i think i can say are that the fielding wasn’t as terrible as it’s been and it was nice to see mr. meek successfully clean up some garbage innings. congratulations evan, you’ve almost reached ryan vogelsong status. oh and nate got a hit. all in all, i think i deserve my money back.

by johnnycuff on Apr 21, 2008 10:10 PM EDT reply actions

Just watched the game on TV. The first time I’ve seen Morris this year. Wow, is he bad now. I’ve been around long enough to have seen the last two Bucco World Series, and I think that he may, in fact, be the worst pitcher I’ve ever seen in the big leagues. I really have no idea how he’s supposed to get anyone out at this point. I mean, if you’re supposed to have, if nothing else - and obviously there IS nothing else - “veteran presence,” and you’re facing a guy who you’ve somehow managed to strike out the first time, and you have him 0-2, and then you HIT him…arrgh.

I will say that Meek didn’t look too bad, and Bixler wasn’t absolutely appalling. Yippee!

by brooklynpirate on Apr 21, 2008 10:28 PM EDT reply actions

Lots of contenders there

I think I might go with Ramon Martinez over Morris, and my inner 12-year-old is busy making a case for Walt Terrell.

by Vlad on Apr 22, 2008 8:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Contenders for worst

I never saw Martinez pitch for us, but from all accounts he’s a worthy contender. Terrell was bad, but in a regularly depressing way, a 5.5 runs in 6 innings kind of way. Watching Morris pitch last night was hullucinagenic.

by brooklynpirate on Apr 22, 2008 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions

Jimmy Anderson

stunk in that unique and infuriating way a few pitchers have (think Kip Wells late in his career with us) where they throw about one brilliant game a month and suck balls in between. Cherry-picking a few random lines from one of Jimmy’s seasons here:

7/12: 8.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
7/22: 8.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
8/3: 2.1 IP, 11 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 3 BB 3 K
8/29: 4.1 IP 8 H 9 R 9 ER 4 BB 1 K

Those are extremes, but he had far more starts that skewed toward the latter two. Drive you nuts.

by bucdaddy on Apr 22, 2008 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Man I miss Jimbo

But we got one in Paul Maholm

by Bad Andy on Apr 22, 2008 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions

I give Terrell bonus points...

...for doing it on a contender. It’s easy to suck on a crappy team, but harder to spend 40% of a season in the rotation of the eventual division winner with a 5.88 ERA (during the pre-boom offensive context, too).

It’s grading up on degree of difficulty, like they do with the Olympic divers.

by Vlad on Apr 22, 2008 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions

Martinez

But at least Martinez had the good sense to walk away after 4 starts in ‘01 when he had nothing. At least that’s the way I remember it.

by rogero on Apr 22, 2008 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm really starting to hate

Matt Morris
Adam LaRoche

by bucdaddy on Apr 21, 2008 11:07 PM EDT reply actions

Attendance

Just saw DK’s early recap article on the PG site. He mentioned that the attendance was 8,444, but appeared to be about a quarter of that (that would be just over 2,000). Wonder how many nights of that it will take for ownership to get the message?

by Thunder on Apr 21, 2008 11:08 PM EDT reply actions

Morris

it will be interesting to see how far that Indy lets JVB pitch tomorrow night. I wouldn’t be shocked if they shortened his start tomorrow so that he COULD pitch instead of Morris on Saturday.

by Thunder on Apr 21, 2008 11:09 PM EDT reply actions

JVB belongs in short relief

But yeah, he might be the best of our bad options right now.

by Vlad on Apr 22, 2008 8:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Fat, drunk, and stupid...

is no way to go through life, son. We have very little talent on this team and everybody at Baseball Prospect knows that. Now that we have finally gotten one of their writers to work for us perhaps he will be able to open the eyes of Neil so he can see that and make some package deals while both Bay and Nady still have value. We can’t correct all of the errors of past management in one season but we can begin by blowing up the building and starting over. Otherwise, it’s just more of the same…duct tape and calking can only keep the buildings occupents dry for so long before the wood rots and the walls collapse. How many empty seats do we need before Neil gets the message? Geesh!

by Illinois Pirate Fan on Apr 22, 2008 10:32 AM EDT reply actions

Package deals?

It burns!

If there’s one silver lining to the season so far, it’s that Bay and Nady have mercifully held (and in Bay’s case, rebuilt) trade value so far.

by Vlad on Apr 22, 2008 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions

Cleveland

Yeah, and Cleveland is getting alomost nothing out of its corner OFers. Do you suppse they’ve gotten back to Neil yet? Unfortunately Lee has pitched very well for them and is probably off the table. They’ve got Wes Hodges, power hitting 3B, I’d like to have though. Or even Sean Rodriques a Mier with pop.

With Cutch doing well in Indy, the future OF of him, Pearce and McLouth looks good to me. But besides pitching we need is some INFers who can hit.

by rogero on Apr 22, 2008 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Lee is on the table.

I wish he weren’t, though, since he’s old and expensive and unlikely to be part of a winning team here. If we aren’t going to get someone with youth and upside, who will still be around for the notional 2010 contender, then we only really need someone cheap who can put up a 5-ish ERA through six innings every five days. If anything, I think Cleveland would like to deal him even more now, since he’s over his head right now.

Hodges is very good. Sean Rodriguez is, to the best of my knowledge, on Anaheim’s roster, not Cleveland’s (though he also looks interesting).

I’m not sure that Cleveland is seriously interested in Bay right now, even with their OF struggles. I think that part of their interest in him this offseason came from the belief that they could buy in at a substantial discount (i.e. a pricey fourth starter, a backup catcher, and a young Juan Encarnacion). Every time Bay goes out and hits like the old Bay, the gap between his perceived value and his on-field value diminishes.

by Vlad on Apr 22, 2008 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions

I meant Josh Rodriquez

who may not be able to stay at SS but can handle either 3B or 2B, with considerable pop in his bat.

Lee has the best numbers of all of their starters. With Sabathia so awful I don’t see them trading him any time soon. He is over his head, though perhaps a repeat of his ‘05 season isn’t out of the question—look at his peripherals.

I’d make a distinction. Trade for young hitters with an eye toward 2010 as you suggest. But I’d be willing to consider vet pitchers who might have a few years left. Lee is only 29. You never know when things might click well enough to compete (hey, Cutch is starting to come on fast). And you can’t project 8-10 years for any pitcher (except for a few exceptional guys at the top) like you can for a hitter.

by rogero on Apr 22, 2008 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Ah!

In which case, yeah, Rodriguez would be a good pickup.

One of my big concerns with Lee is that he’s due almost as much as Bay: $5.75M next year, and either an $8M option or a $1M buyout for 2010 (plus some escalators and incentives). Even if he stays productive this year, I think we might be better off taking cheap talent in trade and then devoting that money to a FA of similar water. That way, we get to have our cake and eat it too.

by Vlad on Apr 22, 2008 4:45 PM EDT reply actions