Mets 5, Pirates 4

by Charlie on Apr 29, 2008 11:22 PM EDT Comment 12 comments

There are only two types of Pirates games. This one was both.

The first, and most common, type is the one in which the Pirates completely undo themselves with terrible defense, and allow a relatively harmless inning to blossom into a six-run stinkweed when Luis Rivas or someone all but dances out of the way of a harmless grounder rather than turning into an out. This time, the goat was Freddy Sanchez, who completely bungled a double play that would've ended the fifth inning, thus allowing the Mets to go up 4-2 with one out and effectively ending the night for Ian Snell.

Something strange happened on the way to the 10-2 rout, though -- Damaso Marte entered and struck out the last two batters (one with a bit of help from the umpire), and the Bucs managed to score in the eighth and ninth innings.

After that, this contest became the second type of Pirates game -- you know, the one that goes on forever into extra innings while no team scores. John Russell managed like he really, really wanted to get back to the hotel early, win or lose. First he sent out Franquelis Osoria -- he of the 6.75 ERA -- to pitch the ninth and tenth. Osoria actually didn't allow any runs, so Russell sent out the newly-recalled John Van Benschoten to pitch the 11th. Van Benschoten promptly pulled a Meek, allowing a single, a balk, an intentional walk, another walk, and then a single, and the Mets won 5-4.

Unless there's something wrong with Matt Capps that we don't know about, sending in Van Benschoten in that situation was absolutely indefensible. The pitcher's spot was due up sixth, so Capps likely would have been able to pitch two innings without his spot coming up. I honestly don't know how you can play a game like this after a day off and not use your best relief pitcher. It's baffling.

UPDATE: The Post-Gazette reports that Capps had a stomach illness and was only available as a "last resort."

0 recs | Comment 12 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

They keep saying Freddy is fine physically,

but are they holding back the truth? Does he have a problem that he can perhaps play through, but if he got it surgically corrected now he would have to miss a few months? Maybe they are just hoping he can play til September, when we clinch a 16th consecutive losing season, and then get it done to be ready for Spring Training 2009. Just speculating….

Coming off a Maholm complete game and the rain day and we use the pitchers that we did today in the situations that we did. Good grief.

Bullington looks like he`s toast, JVB may only be around to provide good AAA pitching the rest of the year, Burnett will get his last chance to prove if he can ever pitch with any effectiveness at the MLB level; perhaps the Pirates need to move on in many ways with regard to personnel. Matt Morris was a distraction, regardless of whether or not he`s a helluva guy, well, I think at least 2/3 of our oft-injured, underachieving former #1 draft choice pitchers are a distraction, too.

Would a change of scenery do JVB some good? And I don`t just mean a return trip to Indy. I wanted to give JVB another chance after Morris was released, but you`ve gotta wonder if he`ll have any confidence in himself and his stuff if he gets a chance to pitch again after tonight`s debacle.

by patthatt on Apr 30, 2008 1:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Eh, it's one game.

Don’t read too much into it.

by Vlad on Apr 30, 2008 8:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How is Capps supposed to pick up saves if he spends his time pitching in non-save situations? C’mon, Charlie, think!

by matskralc on Apr 30, 2008 6:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Capps probably requested to play

during the day game, nice weather, maybe get a tan

by vherub on Apr 30, 2008 10:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Capps...

...Was apparently ill last night. From DK’s recap…

“As usual, the Pirates’ primary relievers did the job, putting up five zeroes before Russell turned to freshly recalled John Van Benschoten in the 11th. Closer Matt Capps still was in the bullpen, but he was to be a last resort because of a stomach illness.”

Beyond that, I really don’t get a lot of the angst at the pitching choices. This season is simply not going to be about winning.

Unless a win in a particular game is in the bag, Russell should (and is) be putting everyone of his question marks (JVB, Meek, Osoria, Dumatrait, etc.) out there every chance he gets to see (especially in critical situations) if there is anything of value in any of them.

This year is the time to do that so we know what we have, and what our needs are.

Sit back and enjoy the games as best as possible and forget the idea that this is a winning ball club. There simply is not enough talent there.

Enjoy watching McClouth break out, and watching Nady, Bay, Marte, and Grabow up their value in anticipation of something of value being gotten.

In the meantime, while the ‘big’ moves haven’t come yet, at least every hint and sign we’ve seen so far is pointing to the fact that NH at least has some idea of what he’s doing.

by steve_g on Apr 30, 2008 11:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I don’t really know if my kids can swim or not, so I guess I’ll throw them in the deep end and find out. And if they can’t the first time, I’ll just see if they start breathing again, and if they do, throw them in again.

by azibuck on Apr 30, 2008 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That...

...is a perfect analogy.

Seeing if a highly paid professional athlete has enough talent to succeed at the major league level, when nothing significant is at stake (i.e. we aint got not chance at a winning season anyway), is EXACTLY like risking your kids life. No difference at all. :-P

by steve_g on Apr 30, 2008 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Highly paid" and "Professional"

Interesting choice of words you used. Don’t tell any arbitration eligible player that today’s game “doesn’t matter.” You may ultimately shrug and say it doesn’t matter, but in the moment of a professional’s job, it matters very much.

by azibuck on Apr 30, 2008 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Which...

...of those words is inaccurate?

Even minor leaguers are professional baseball players, and if you are in the majors, there is a minimum salary in the hundreds or thousands.

And where did I say that they players didn’t care, or that it doesn’t matter to them.

And I am far from shrugging off 15 losing seasons.

I don’t like watching the bucs lose anymore than you. I really want to see them win, and I have a pretty decent emotional investment in them myself.

One of my fondest memories growing up was when we won the Pittsburgh Pony League championship, and were handed our trophy’s by Tony Pena, while standing next to home plate at Three Rivers Stadium.

Tony Freakin Pena!!

Can you imagine what that was like for a 14 year old just a few years after watching them beat Baltimore for in the World Series?

My connection to the PBC runs deep.

All that being said, the reality is that while I want them to win, I want them to build something like a decent baseball organization more. And an ultimately meaningless game at the end of April, in what is sure to be a losing season, is not going to be what does that.

If anything does, it will be evaluating and acquiring talent to rebuild on the ashes that Littlefield left.

Part of that talent evaluation is evaluating what they have in their system now. If that means putting JVB in during a pressure situation (whether Capps wasn’t ill) so be it.

The management is supposed to be staffed by professionals as well, and part of their job in rebuilding this mess is to not focus on a single game.

I’ll just repeat what I said…I don’t get all the angst about which pitcher is chosen at what point with regard to almost any game this season. If any of those choices serve to tell us something of value about those pitchers, that’s more important.

Beyond that, I am just enjoyging the games as best as I can given the circumstances; while I wait to see if NH et. al. can start to offer some real hope beyond of the false, fleeting hope we all feel for about 5 days at the beginning of each season.

by steve_g on Apr 30, 2008 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What are you talking about, "innaccurate"?

Both words were accurate. If you’re highly paid, and professional, you owe it to your employer and your colleagues to give your best effort. Not only the colleagues on your team, but on other teams, who have a stake in how your team performs against their rivals.

What’s “all the angst” anyway? That’s the great thing about baseball. You get to evaluate any number of things 162 times a year! At least! I don’t see why Russell shouldn’t be evaluated on his performance this year, regardless of this year’s expectations. It’s not a bunch of angst, it’s what happens when bloggers open a game thread, and recap a game.

by azibuck on Apr 30, 2008 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think...

...that with regard to the ‘professional’ and ‘highly paid’ statement, I just flat out misunderstood your initial comment that those were ‘interesting’ words I chose.

I thought you were being sarcastic, and was responding based on that perception. I now see you didn’t mean it in the way I read.

Apologies on that score. I think we are on the same page on that issue.

As for the angst issue, well yes, you are right. That is what you get when you blog about baseball, true enough. And my own comment in regard to statements like…

“sending in Van Benschoten in that situation was absolutely indefensible”

...are what you get when you have comments open on said blog.

Those sentiments seem shortsighted in the larger context of what’s going on with the organization (only my opinion of course).

Yes, Russell should and can be evaluated this season, but the larger context of the club should inform those evaluations even for a particular game, or a particular decision.

I just think such comments are more than a little over the top in relation to this ball club. Not because the particular game doesn’t matter, but because the larger picture of evaluating the talent in the system matters more.

Getting to see what JVB does or does not have (whether Capps was ill or not) is more important than a single particular game. Just my opinion.

by steve_g on Apr 30, 2008 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see what you are saying,

but why not just use JVB in situations like yesterday, unless he’s all you have left in pressure situations, until he shows he can at least pitch well with a multiple-run lead? Then, if he does that first, throw him in the mix in a close game.

by DITO on May 1, 2008 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs