Pirates 13, Mets 1

by Charlie on Apr 30, 2008 4:58 PM EDT Comment 11 comments

I didn't watch this one -- I did some work and watched the GameCast -- but this doesn't look like it was anywhere near as promising as the score suggests. The Mets fielded poorly (there were three errors, and nine of the Pirates' runs were unearned), and Oliver Perez just couldn't find the strike zone. The Bucs managed to put up 13 despite only 12 hits and no homers. They scored seven runs in the seventh because Perez walked the bases full, then it was just a bunch of singles plus a walk and an error, then trot around the bases. The rest of the runs they scored came against the butt end of the Mets' bullpen, and most of them were also aided by errors.

Also, Tom Gorzelanny wasn't sharp -- he walked five in five innings, suggesting he probably still hasn't turned things around. Keep in mind that Gorzelanny allowed just one run in 6.1 innings against Cincinnati on April 13, but it turned out that his four walks in that game were more telling than the Reds' inability to score -- he got rocked in his next outing, against the Cubs. Until Gorzelanny figures out how to get the ball back in the strike zone, he's not going to be very effective. Gorzelanny now has 27 walks in 27.1 innings. This is a big problem. On top of that, he appeared to have back pain in the fifth inning and after he left the game.

Oh yeah -- and Evan Meek walked the bases full in the eighth, although he managed to get out of the inning.

I don't mean to sound churlish -- a win is a win, and it was nice to see Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady (who else?) pile up some more hits, but it doesn't look like the Bucs played great baseball here.

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I watched most of it and...

I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you.

The Pirates did exactly what they needed to today. Gorzo walked more people than he should have, but managed to put up zeros before getting hurt.
Perez was wild…that’s not the Pirates fault. This team is known for not capitalizing in situations where they should. Today they did capitalize.
The fact that we scored that many runs without any homeruns is pretty much the blueprint for what this team is designed to do. It would be strange if they homered their way to a 12 run win.
Meek was wild of course, but JR made the right decision to get him some work when the team is up big.
They did what they needed to do. Sorry, but I cannot bring myself to be discouraged when they beat a contender by 12 runs.

by Crazy,ButStillAFan on Apr 30, 2008 5:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m not discouraged; I’m just not particularly encouraged.

by Charlie on Apr 30, 2008 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also, “capitalizing in situations” is pretty low on my list of what would make me feel better about this team. Leaving aside the fact that there was little capitalizing to be done in this game besides leaving the bats on their shoulders, a bad offense that capitalizes is really no substitute for a plain-old good offense.

by Charlie on Apr 30, 2008 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think by now we can admit that this team does not have a “plain-old good offense”.
This team in fact does need to rely on their ability to capitalize in situations where the other team is not playing well…which is exactly what they did today.
When the other pitcher is missing the zone, of course they will keep their bats on their shoulders. (Unless Paulino is playing, in which case he would be first-pitch swinging)
They played the game right today.

by Crazy,ButStillAFan on Apr 30, 2008 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ability to capitalize?

I didn’t realize that “capitaliz[ing] in situations where the other team is not playing well” was an actual ability. Is this like the much balleyhooed clutch-hitting ability, or the pitcher-handling ability?

Formerly known as Econolodge

by Willton on Apr 30, 2008 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This may be the first time I’ve ever seen Charlie marginalize the drawing of walks by the Pirates.

Formerly known as Econolodge

by Willton on Apr 30, 2008 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t get me wrong—I’m glad they took them! But when someone walks five batters in 1.2 innings, I think you’ve got to say there’s more involved than just the patience of the hitters.

by Charlie on Apr 30, 2008 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, if I’d heard the score was 13 to 1 without knowing who had won, I’d have considered it a remote contingency that it was the Pirates who had scored the 13. So I think there is reason to be a lot more encouraged than if they’d lost 13-1 even if the route to the win wasn’t as impressive as one might hope.

by WestCoastBuc on Apr 30, 2008 6:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Gorzelanny

Not only does he need to start throwing strikes, but he also needs to get his velocity back where it was. My guess is that both are because of some sort of injury as the result of his overuse last year.

It’s interesting that he pitched against Pérez today, since now it appears they have some similarities: pitchers who previously looked like aces but now are erratic and have lost velocity.

by Dignan on Apr 30, 2008 6:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Come on guys...

Wilton, Charlie:
Of course they must take advantage when other teams aren’t playing well!
Good teams have always had the ability to put away teams that are playing poorly. Most of the time it involves other teams beating us since we are typically the team playing poorly. If the shoe is on the other foot for a day, so be it.
The Mets played poorly, and the Pirates showed the “ability” to put them away.
I call it “ability” because the Pirates have lost many games where the other team played a bad game. Today they were “able” to put away a bad team.

by Crazy,ButStillAFan on Apr 30, 2008 7:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My 2 cents

Listened to parts while at work and watched parts of the “encore” presentation – a nice feature on both the Mets and Yankees networks that replays almost every regular season game either late in the evening or the next day.

Gorzo hurt his back in the bottom of the 5th – not sure how bad it is but he was clearly in pain in the dugout in the 6th.

John van Buren (Martin van Buren is widely considered to be one of the worst presidents in US history, so it’s only fair that I blend him w/a pitcher widely considered to be one of the worst pitchers in Pirates history – besides, its easier to spell) looked like he could have blown the 13 run lead, giving up a 4-pitch walk and a hard-hit double to the first two batters he faced. Not sure what happened but he at least returned to a level of mediocre competence for the rest of his time.

The way we got the runs were not all that bad. Gorzo nearly blew the 7 run inning by hitting into an inning-ending DP, so we did catch a big break there. But McN, Freddy, and Bay showed good plate discipline. I was happy grinding out 3 runs w/RISP. After that, the rest was just icing. And most of our hits were hit with authority. There was no quibbling about seeing eye singles or fluke doubles. We were spanking, albeit not pounding, the ball.

Finally, there was some nice defense – Bautista on a ball that was just foul and Freddy’s diving catch that nipped one potential Met rally in the bud. Hopefully, its contagious.

by Trogluddite on Apr 30, 2008 10:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs