Pirates Win on Walk-Off Single by Ronny Cedeno
by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 7, 2010 11:07 PM EDT
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PrintThis was an amazingly long 4-3 game, but yet another fun one. When you're up three runs after three batters against Clayton Kershaw, you know things are going well. Akinori Iwamura started the game with a walk, and then Andrew McCutchen singled, and then came Garrett Jones, who continued his amazing run with a three-run homer that landed a couple rows into the stands in right-center.
Jones also looked great getting from first to third after a hit by Lastings Milledge in the bottom of the third. I'll give Jones some credit--he's a lot better rounded than his minor league numbers made him look. He can run. As MarkinDallas pointed out earlier today, Neal Huntington recently said that because Jones was so athletic, he may not be much of a downgrade on Brandon Moss defensively. I don't buy that--Jones frequently looks awkward on defense, particularly on plays at the wall--but I can at least see what Huntington is saying.
Things came apart for Ross Ohlendorf in the fifth, as he allowed a leadoff homer to Russell Martin and then, after an error by Andy LaRoche, RBI hits by Kemp and Andre Ethier. He finished the inning with the game tied. Overall, neither Kershaw nor Ohlendorf had their best stuff. Ohlendorf's velocity was fine, particularly at the start of the game (when his fastball was hitting 93), but his command was shaky, and he allowed three walks against only one strikeout.
This was hardly the convincing win that Monday's was, but I liked that the Pirates managed to get 18 runners on base, and at least the bullpen, though shaky, managed to come through in the end.
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Dumb strategy. I’m sure the idea is that, to win, you’ve got to get through two more innings, so you might as well save Broxton. But the priority there should have been just to get to the next inning, because the Pirates were down to their 6th and 7th relievers.
It is kinda nice to see that our bullpen has pitchers that look at least competent that deep into it. Even taschner and penn aren’t as bad as some of the guys we were running out last year.
by ravidesai1984 on Apr 7, 2010 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions
How great was it to see Dotel battle back from a 1st AB walk to saw off Manny? I’ll take “Things Matt Capps Could Never Do for $100, Alex…”
"Straight ball I hit very much, but curveball, bats are afraid." - Pedro Cerrano
I praise Ra.
And the baseball god. I know I don’t pray to him often. Sometimes I wonder if he exist at all.
by IAPiratesFan on Apr 7, 2010 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I praise Steven Strausburgh
he is the baseball jesus or so he called by Mr. Tony Plush Himself
Players who should be in the Hall of Fame: Pat TIllman, Dwight White, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Greg Llyod, Andy Russel, Cris Carter, Kevin Greene and Jerry Kramer
"they dont foul do they ref???" Bob Huggins
Canal Street Chronicles resident Steelers Fan
by WVPiratesfan on Apr 8, 2010 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions
early,but
too early for freak show comps? hells no.
I’d like to think that this an actual better group of players than the freak show.
That said, I’d love to see another season like that one.
Dur.
The Freak Show didn’t have Garrett F***ing Jones.
by IAPiratesFan on Apr 7, 2010 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Not at all
These 1st couple games give you a good indication of what this team is capable of. Can they do it consistently? We shall see.
"Straight ball I hit very much, but curveball, bats are afraid." - Pedro Cerrano
keeping it up
hopefully the bullpen can keep shutting down the opposition,too many close calls,,but the team desnt look bad so far
I know it's just a recap;
But I think your giving Cedeno the short shrift by stating that he “managed a single.”
I’m not even a big Cedeno fan (you just knew he was going to swing at the first few pitches despite the two previous walks), but that was a hell of an at bat; worked his way back to even and wasted a few good pitches only to lace a ball to left center. Just giving credit when credit is due.
by Maxwell.C on Apr 7, 2010 11:41 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Didn’t mean it to sound pejorative, but you’re right.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 7, 2010 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions
It was a class 3 perjorative...
if you are a NewsRadio fan.
by Blyleven Curve Ball on Apr 8, 2010 2:00 AM EDT up reply actions
agreed
he was pretty much the last guy in the lineup i wanted to see up there, but he gave a solid at bat and that ball was in the gap.
Hehehe.
And the best bullpen arm got to watch “Teh Best Dodgers Bullepn Ever!” blow the game in the 10th from a comfy seat in the pen. Joe Torre fit the definition of managing to not lose instead of managing to win.
by IAPiratesFan on Apr 7, 2010 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Seriously?
Russ Ortiz, who hasn’t had an ERA below 5.51 since 2004? Ramon Ortiz, who hasn’t had an ERA below 5.36 since 2004? Jeff Weaver, whose ERA since 2003 is 4.96? And a Rule 5 pick? With their resources, that’s an embarrassing bullpen.
by WTM on Apr 8, 2010 6:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Heh
When “Ortiz” came into the game Monday, we missed the announcement, and so were trying to remember what his first name was. “Well,” the guy with me said, looking at Ramon’s frame, “It’s not Russ.” And we laughed. I don’t think either of us knew the Dodgers had Russ TOO, until he came in later.
And, WTM, you didn’t even mention Padilla in the rotation.
Rare air up here.
Charlie,
Does it occur that maybe LaRoche has four walks BECAUSE he hits in front of the pitcher, and that if he bats ninth whoever bats seventh will get the walks?
I’m sure that’s possible, but LaRoche is pretty clearly a better OBP guy than Cedeno.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 8, 2010 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions
You’re half right. LaRoche might not get as many walks if he hit ninth, but I don’t think Cedeno would get free passes if he is the one hitting in front of the pitcher.
by Adam Reynolds on Apr 8, 2010 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions
We have a situation here.
There’s no reason at all to pitch carefully to Cedeno if he’s batting ninth, with the top of the order behind him. You want to go right after a guy like that, just like you’d want to go after the pitcher if he were there.
If you bat him seventh, ahead of the pitcher, maybe he gets pitched a little more carefully and draws a few more walks, since who wants to let RONNY CEDENO beat him when the pitcher’s up next?
So maybe the question becomes whether Cedeno 7/LaRoche 9 gets on base more than LaRoche 7/Cedeno 9? If Andy has a naturally good eye, and is not just benefitting from batting ahead of the pitcher, in other words, if he’s a legitimate .370 OBP guy, no matter where he hits, and you can raise Cedeno’s OBP by batting him 7th, should you do that?
I recently read an article that showed that pretty much all hitters have a higher OBP and BA when hitting in front of the pitcher.
by MarkInDallas on Apr 8, 2010 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Of course
Andy walked tonight when he was hitting in front of the pinch hitter as well.
by MarkInDallas on Apr 8, 2010 12:49 AM EDT up reply actions
I liked Lastings’ hustle and alertness tonight. On the hit that sent GFJ to third, he put himself into position to get to second with a good turn, and then alertly picked up the extra base on the throw. I’m guessing that his hustle down the line in the tenth helped to force the bad throw from DeWitt. On defense, he ranged far to his left to cut off Kemp’s RBI double, and backed up McCutchen in the ninth when McCutchen appeared uncertain about where Carroll’s 2B was. Plus, he had the sliding catch. Throw in a couple of scorched liners, and I’m thinking that he’s making his quantum leap forward.
Agreed. Edge looked good tonite.
Free your ass and your mind will follow.
by cocktailsfor2 on Apr 7, 2010 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Our pitching was ugly today, in spite of eking out the victory. 9 free passes in the game will not get it done on most days. If we keep pitching into jams all year, we will not get out of them. Luckily, GI Jones is a machine and players like Milledge are tattooing the ball in most at bats.
The starters need to go deeper into games. Only 5 innings the first two. Better than the opposition both times, but we need more.
I think Duke could have gone more Monday.
Duke was lifted for strategic reasons that paid off big time for the Bucs. Throw in a two day break and it seemed acceptable. But I don’t think Ohlendorf could have done more tonight. He had me biting my nails, along with everyone not named Dotel.
But yeah, someone should tell Russell that just because the bullpen is better doesn’t mean that it’s a blank check to lift the starter that early every night. We’ll see what happens with Maholm tomorrow afternoon.
by IAPiratesFan on Apr 7, 2010 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Pretty much, yeah.
If it hadn’t been for the opportunity to put a hurt on the Dodgers with the bases loaded, I think Duke would’ve gone at least one more inning.
I also think that he was willing to be aggressive with the relievers because everybody was rested from ST and he knew that there was an off-day on Tuesday. Under those circumstances, why not use every arm in the pen?
Plus get as many as possible into game action early in the season. Get their feet wet.
by MarkInDallas on Apr 8, 2010 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed....
….no team is going to win many games giving out 9 free passes!
by Marooned Pirate on Apr 8, 2010 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Watched the game on the free mlb network 1st week thingy (got home in time to pick it up from the top of the 5th), decided to watch it in the living room instead of joining in on the game thread (and the GF was using her laptop, anyway)…
Biggest criticism: WTF was DY doing swinging at the first pitch from Weaver? Bases loaded, and you’re swinging at the first @%$king pitch when a walk scores 1, a base knock scores 2? Gah.
Other observations:
Pitching – the Doyers put their leadoff on base in the 3rd (BB), 4th (BB), 5th (HR), 7th (BB), 9th (2B), 10th (BB). 8 walks overall. That;s NOT gonna get it done over the course of a season.
Meek – even with 2 BB, he looked good overall. I don’t think he can pitch more than 1 – 1-2/3 innings, though. 13 strikes out of 30 pitches…
Carrasco: Wow. Looked good, IMO.
Dotel: a 23-pitch inning? Looked nervous to me. Giving up the leadoff 2B, then the WP…eep. Settled down to come through unscored upon, I think this was an aberration. He will do a fine job for us.
Donnelly: wears the Wreckspecs, but doesn’t pitch like you-know-who. Even with the 2 BB, I am not concerned.
Offensively – missed the GFJ dinger, and didn’t see much from anyone else… the DY thing kills me, the DP Milledge lined into was just bad luck, and Cedeno had a really nice AB in the 10th (10 or 11 pitches) IMO. I do disagree with Charlie that he “managed” a single there.
Overall, I think we’re showing more patience at the plate (but GFJ should’ve been ALL OVER that 1st pitch in the 7th!). Clement has a long way to go. He looked pretty overmatched, IMO – a lot of guessing at the plate.
I’ll take a series win in the first series of the year…particularly since I lived in L.A. for 25 years and despise the Doyers!
Free your ass and your mind will follow.
DY's at-bat had me going for the liquor cabinet.
I thought Dotel looked pretty collected out there. A lot of guys would have lost it, a guy on third with no one out in the 9th of a tie game. I thought Oc bore down and handled the rest of that inning like a sage veteran. Nice to see some solidarity from our closer.
I don’t have any problem with Dotel’s inning. First, the “double” really should’ve been a single. Second, the walk to Ethier was a classic pitch-around situation. He’s going to be a little wild all year, so the wild pitch is something we might have to get used to.
I don’t think he looked anything like nervous. Maybe amped up, but he wasn’t intimidated by any stretch.
Off-day?
…for the plate umpire?? With 18 walks in the game, the ump is showing his rust. These are the kinds of games we’ve lost in the past. Let’s relieve the Dodgers of their last dubloons tomorrow!
Anybody
else loving Aki at the top of the lineup? He doesn’t swing at anything out of the zone, works the count, and is a tough out every time up. Heck, he hasn’t got a hit yet, but I can’t believe we got him for a middling RP
I kept track last night
He saw 32 pitches in 5 plate appearances. If wearing out pitchers were torture, he would be Dick Cheney.
"Straight ball I hit very much, but curveball, bats are afraid." - Pedro Cerrano
I would guess that part of the reason LaRoche is walking so far could be batting in front of the pitcher, might be getting pitched around? I don’t know if that would translate to being put in front of an actual hitter.
I really hope the Pirates stick with the pitcher batting 8th thing. I don’t get why managers like La Russa would only use it for a few games then stop.
This Comment is Irrelevant to the Pirates
Our old friend Adam LaRoche is on the same team as Mark Reynolds, so far they’re 1-13 w/ 7 K’s, Arizona fans are going to be disappointed for a month…hehe
ROY GF JONES
This is great now if the Pens lose the rest it would be better .
Pen gets a B from me
The only problem was the BB, a lot of them but only 1 hit and the win. In all if you can get that type of work from the pen all year you should be able to win some games
Another positive sign
The Sodgers have thrown 360 pitches in 18 innings.
Our guys seem to be watching more balls, and fouling pitches off with 2 strikes. Clement in about the 5th last night has been the only K swinging at a bad pitch (that I’ve seen).
This surely goes against the trend that we’ve seen out of these guys over the last bunch of years. If they can keep up the patient hitting, they should score runs, which should lead to (gasp) wins.
Dodgers, not Sodgers
but I bet you knew that.
360 pitches in 18 innings
That’s nice to see. You’d think it was the Red Sox. Granted, guys like whichever the hell Ortiz aren’t exactly strike-throwers, and control isn’t Kershaw’s strong point, either, but this is still a big change. Iwamura doesn’t even have a hit and I think he’s made a significant contribution to the offense. We just never had guys like that before.
Totally agree
seeing such high pitch counts from opposing pitchers is making me giggle. Makes me think somebody picked up a copy of “Moneyball” and highlighted a few paragraphs.
"Straight ball I hit very much, but curveball, bats are afraid." - Pedro Cerrano
A couple of you mentioned Cedeno being the last guy you'd want up...
…to me it’s Clement right now. He has had one hit I believe and a couple good at bats, but he got embarassed by Kershaw and Sherrill yesterday. He’s the last one I would’ve wanted up in the 10th.
I wouldn't have minded Clement
Remember, Ramon Ortiz is a righty, Kershaw and Sherrill were lefties. Clement is a lefty, ergo, chances are pretty good that Clement would be better against Ortiz than against Kershaw or Sherrill. I don’t have the stats, but maybe someone can back me up.
I agree. It looked like Clement had some decent swings against the RHPs Monday, but was overmatched by the LHPs (including one of the tougher LHPs in the league) last night. I thought that he would have a chance of coming through against a RHP in extra innings. It’s too bad that we don’t have a good option for a platoon partner, something like Gary Redus twenty years ago.
Church, DY, and Crosby starting in today’s game in the place of Milledge, Clement, Cedeno. Hate to see Milledge resting, but at least some other guys are getting work early.
Church and Crosby were MLB starters last year, so to see them start a a 12:35 game the day after a 10-inning win to rest a few starters before a West Coast trip, I got no beef with that.
"Straight ball I hit very much, but curveball, bats are afraid." - Pedro Cerrano
Not to mention
They went 5 for 10 with 2 walks. Not too shabby. Hard to complain when they were the best hitters on the team.
by MarkInDallas on Apr 9, 2010 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Indeed, my friend.
Couldn’t agree more. I expect to see many nights where those two are in the starting lineup even when it isn’t a getaway game. I can’t remember the last time this team had a lineup that could rest some starters and have such a minimal drop-off.
Crosby hit a well-struck single, even though he got lucky with the lip-of-the-dirt bouncer. But he’s working the count well and making good contact. Church has been as good as advertised so far.
"Straight ball I hit very much, but curveball, bats are afraid." - Pedro Cerrano
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