Pirates 10, Braves 0; Pirates 3, Braves 0

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 18, 2009 3:08 PM EDT

This was a pair of extremely nice games for the Pirates even though they were facing a depleted Braves team that was missing Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar. Paul Maholm shut Atlanta down on Friday and Ian Snell did it on Saturday, although neither were dominant--Maholm had only two strikeouts and Snell only three. Behind them, John Grabow, Matt Capps, Sean Burnett and Jesse Chavez all pitched scoreless innings. Chavez was fun to watch--his fastball ran as high as 97, and he kept the ball in the zone and struck out Brian McCann with a breaking ball.

Offensively, Craig Monroe had a huge day on Saturday, hitting two three-run homers. In front of him, Freddy Sanchez and Nate McLouth had two hits each and Ryan Doumit had three (all of them doubles). McLouth, by the way, is now hitting .268/.388/.488, so I'm pretty sure those who were worried about him can breathe easy.

Perhaps the most pleasant development of the last two days, though, is that Andy LaRoche has really looked like a big leaguer. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI on Friday, then went 3-for-4 with two doubles today. He also turned double plays both days. He's still hitting just .192/.250/.269, but he looks much better than he did a few days ago.

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Charlie, A Pitcher Can Dominate A Game ...

without striking out a lot of batters.

In fact, that is a sign of a good pitcher.

by thegunner on Apr 18, 2009 3:53 PM EDT reply actions

Well, that explains your adoration of Yoslan Herrera, I suppose.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 18, 2009 4:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Andy was batting behind Monroe, so two of his hits came right after a HR.

The key to making Andy comfortable at the plate, then, is to simply have the guy in front of him hit a homer. Easy!

by CptnAwesome on Apr 18, 2009 4:18 PM EDT reply actions

lol

Good idea.
The question now is… what do you do if the guy doesn’t hit a homer?
Do you pull Andy? Or just hope he gets lucky?

True Blue Jazz
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09

by UtesFan89 on Apr 18, 2009 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions

If Andy doesn’t keep it up, I think the best suggestion is to have him do what Jake Taylor did in “Major League” and simply take a HBP.

Jason Kendall followed that plan to great success.

by CptnAwesome on Apr 18, 2009 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Heh. Craig Wilson did too. Maybe Andy should wear a baggy uniform like Craig did?

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 18, 2009 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Not a bad idea!

We should encourage Nyjer to do the same, since his OBP will probably be awful.

Maybe it’d become our calling card, complete with an addition to the motto: “Pride. Passion. Plonking. Pirates.”

by CptnAwesome on Apr 18, 2009 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Depleted lineup or not

I don’t care if Chipper or Yunel (overrated) didn’t play today. The Braves wouldn’t have won today. Last night, they might or might not have won. But today, forget about it. Monroe is sick right now, and the pitching is solid (right now anyway).

by thelumberco. on Apr 18, 2009 5:38 PM EDT reply actions

Monroe

I think we need to calm down on Monroe.

Sure he had a great game today. But coming into this game he was hitting .125 with no runs or rbis with 2 strikeouts and no walks. Luis Rivas had a game early last year where he hit two home runs and drove in 5. I hope Monroe keeps playing well, but based on his last couple years, I don’t think we should be pushing him into the starting line-up or anything.

by richmondpirate on Apr 18, 2009 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Efficient

Not as good as dominant, but I like the way they’re averaging < 15 pitches per inning. It works when you have the stuff. I don’t know that Oh or Karstens can do it with their stuff, particularly the latter. But with the top 3, they’ve got the goods to go after hitters with confidence.

by azibuck on Apr 18, 2009 7:27 PM EDT reply actions

I agree

I think the most important thing to take out of this is that the starters have pitched well and kept the bullpen fresh. Sure, the Braves are without two offensive weapons in Chipper and Escobar; however, the pitching staff went out there and took advantage of it. They performed well when they were supposed to perform well, against a weakened lineup.

by psdeuce on Apr 18, 2009 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Just a question about this site's lingo, and sorry if I look like an idiot for asking it:

What does the following mean?

Someone is hitting .268/.388/.488,

average, OBP, slugging?

by Suffering Buc on Apr 18, 2009 9:25 PM EDT reply actions

You’ve got it. Maybe I should start including those designations.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 18, 2009 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Correct

by matskralc on Apr 18, 2009 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Do you guys thing the Delwyn Young deal means no McCutchen this year (or a September callup at most)?

by ddff22 on Apr 18, 2009 9:42 PM EDT reply actions

No, I don’t think Young has anything to do with McCutchen.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 18, 2009 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Isn’t Young going to be used more as a utility infielder here? If so, then I don’t see why it would have any impact on Cutch’s situation. I could be wrong about all of this, of course.

And matskraic, I would definitely pick him up, especially if your league allows keepers.

by Suffering Buc on Apr 18, 2009 9:50 PM EDT up reply actions

To phil79, yes, I’d pick up Price.

by Suffering Buc on Apr 18, 2009 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Ah, I thought he was mostly an outfielder, that’s where he has played the most the past few years. Thanks.

by ddff22 on Apr 18, 2009 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions

he has been an OF the last few years, but he came up playing some 2b and 3b. that said, he got moved to the outfield for a reason. I have doubts he can make it as a utility IF, but I hope he can for the sake of our bench

by richmondpirate on Apr 18, 2009 10:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Baseball related, but off-topic.

David Price is on the waiver-wire in my fantasy baseball league. Should i pick him up?

by phil79 on Apr 18, 2009 9:46 PM EDT reply actions

Absolutely...

…if you have a place to stash him on your roster and can survive with a dead spot for about 4-5 more weeks. He’ll be up at some point this year and will be an asset; they’re doing with him what they did with Longoria last year, keeping his arbitration clock from starting early.

by Bishop1973 on Apr 18, 2009 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions

I figured he'd be up this summer...

I just didn’t really know who to dump to take his roster spot. Snell, Big Laroche, Ian Stewart, Chris Davis, or Justin Upton. Davis and Upton are struggling, but have upside. Stewart just doesn’t have a place to play regularly in Colorado. Snell and Laroche are Bucs, which makes it harder to release them. :-)

by phil79 on Apr 18, 2009 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions