Cardinals 9, Pirates 3
by Charlie on Apr 7, 2009 11:07 PM EDT
25 comments
The Pirates have now played two incredibly sloppy games, but with a loss tonight, they have a .500 record. Maybe they've figured out a special formula to sustain that pace--yesterday, they got enough out of Paul Maholm to get the ball to their two good relievers (John Grabow and Matt Capps, and let's leave out Tyler Yates), who grabbed the win and the save, respectively.
Tonight, they played all kinds of sloppy baseball yet again and got blown out, but at least they were able to give Capps and Grabow a rest. Instead, they trotted out three bad relievers, with Sean Burnett sandwiched in between Donnie Veal and Craig Hansen. Veal and Hansen at least showed flashes of potential (they had three strikeouts apiece, and Veal had a wicked breaking ball going) but neither of them have any idea how to find the strike zone. It didn't matter, because Ian Snell was terrible and the game had already been decided by the time they entered.
So, tomorrow, the process needs to begin again. Zach Duke needs to pitch well enough to get the ball to Capps and Grabow. There's pretty much no margin for error, at least not if the rest of the Pirates play as they did tonight. Andy LaRoche was, again, terrible, botching what appeared to be a routine popup for his third error in two games. Freddy Sanchez had two hits, including a homer, but after him the Pirates only managed to reach base four other times. This has been a very, very bad .500 team so far.
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Is it too soon
to have Steve Blass meet with Andy LaRoche?
I see definite signs of incipient Steve Blass Disease here.
I hate to say it, and I didn’t because it thought it might be too early to, but I do too. I don’t want to start any sort of speculation, but he honestly sometimes plays like he has some sort of mental problem.
Then again, maybe it’s just two bad games.
Ron Cook seems to be getting on board
From his PPG column this morning:
There is no one on the team under more pressure than Andy LaRoche, and it seems to mount a little more each day as he continues to struggle under Pittsburgh’s relentless watch.
Not the game to go to as a Pirates fan, also should have kept my mouth shut before the game instead of talking trash.
Cards fans really like Andy LaRoche though but not in a good way.
I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.
by Chester J Lampwick on Apr 8, 2009 12:31 AM EDT reply actions
Not ready to have Little LaRoche walk the plant yet
but 3 errors in two days?! I want to see the prospect who has excelled at every level!
Yeah, it's funny how guys who excel in the minors get hyped.
Any hype that he got, he earned on the field.
What's funny is...
how when players get hyped in a particular farm system…and then traded away…they seem to fail rather frequently. And when those teams keep a highly hyped prospect…they succeed. The Dodgers, Braves and Red Sox seem to be very good at keeping the successful prospects and getting rid of the ones that fail.
I thought Freddy Sanchez was overhyped
but his play on the field turned me around. If he can regain his gap to gap doubles prowess this year, he might actually fetch us something in a trade. My preference would be to keep him, but I understand the issues involved with that – age, likelihood of injuries, etc. Just can’t get excited about Shelby Ford.
I agree with you on Shelby Ford. Let’s see how he does in Indianapolis this year before we get excited.
But I’ ve always assumed that Andy LaRoche would get shifted over to 2B in the post-Freddy world. Most 3B can pretty easily convert to 2B (e.g., “Scrap Iron” Phil Garner in 1979), and this would give Walker and Pedro a chance to start at 3B. In fact I could see all three as starters in 2011 — Alvarez at 1B, Luigi at 2B and Walker at 3B. Of course that assumes a lot.
Why would Freddy
at his age and with his lack of speed and power (two things that aren’t helped by getting older), suddenly regain his doubles gap power?
I think he can still manage to leg out a double in the gap
Speed was never his long suit, what with, you know, the club feet and everything. Plus, his hitting problems stemmed more from his shoulder injury.
He said prowess, not power
Injury (including eye) may have cost him power and/or prowess. I think the comment and possibility are fair. I don’t think age and speed are factors.
The drop in power was a function of his shoulder injury.
If the shoulder is working/feeling better, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his numbers benefit. He hit better and better last year as he got further and further away from the surgery (.862 2nd half OPS), and while a lot of it was driven by a shift in BA, some of it was ISO, too.
A few prospects the Dodgers have traded away:
Pedro Martinez
Paul Konerko
Ted Lilly
John Wetteland
Edwin Jackson
They also lost Shane Victorino in the Rule 5 draft not once, but twice. So if they’ve got a radar that tells them which prospects are going to succeed and which are going to fail, they may want to re-calibrate it.
Well
He might be pressing a bit considering management is giving him a short leash. So the pressure to produce hit-wise may be effecting his defense. Some players thrive on pressure others collapse. Interestingly N.Morgan has played better in the MLB games so far in comparison to lil Laroche despite also being on a short leash.
Considering he had a good spring, I wouldn’t think the pressure would be on him to hit drastically, but…who knows.
Maybe he’s taking after big LaRoche’s mentality and not hitting in april too. lol
It’s the whole dropping pop-ups thing that worries me about Andy’s mental state.
Did he lose the ball in the moon?
Management has talked up that Morgan is on a short leash, but never actually shown it. With Andy LaRoche and Moss (and Gorzo), management has not only talked the talk, but walked the walk.
I’d argue that Morgan has every right to believe he’s the starting LF and lead off hitter no matter how bad he stinks — no pressure.
Sometimes, you just fuck up.
I mean, I accidentally set my hand on fire one time. Everybody makes mistakes.
As for Nyjer, Morgan has (and deserves) a shorter leash because he’s never played particularly well in the minors. When a guy has a track record of success, like LaRoche, he gets a little more rope than a guy with a .727 career OPS in the minors.
agreed... to paraphrase the great Ike Willis,
there’s always the possibility that something might fuck up.
at least Nyjer has been hitting like he’s on a short leash, but it’s just two games.
i am not ready to give up on andy laroche yet. I know countless fans started to last year, and already through 2 games people are again. For a fan base that hasfor years embraced an average over-paid player like jack wilson, almost to the point i want to throw up, i am not sure why everyone is so quick to bash and shoot down andy laroche. i understand he hastn done anything since coming over last year, but that was only 164 abs. He might very well end up being a AAAA player, but i’m willing to give a player with his minor league credentials a little more of a chance to prove himself.
I truly wish we have more pitching depth in the minors, so we could finally end ian snell’s days as a starter , and just move him the the bullpen in a carlos marmol type role. i really can never see him being a successful start with only 2 pitches.
the yanks
may be under a microcosm, where every game, every at-bat is full of million dollar meanings.
But the pirates are a longterm project, and like anything with large scope, there are days, weeks, months where it looks like the entire project is doomed to collapse.
The win-loss record will be inconsequential, as will era, run-differential or even player output during a 4 game series. The pirates “wins” this year will depend on how many young prospects excel, or are poised to excel, and how much mediocre present day talent can be flipped for potential excellence. It’s only the 2nd inning of LaRoche’s Pirate career. He’s got plenty of time to turn it around before getting shipped out.
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