Roy Oswalt One-Hits Pirates
by Charlie Wilmoth on Jul 8, 2010 5:03 PM EDT
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PrintIn a strange way, it's a little disappointing to me when the Pirates just don't get all the way and completely bagel the scoreboard. Given the number of games in which they only get a couple of hits, it's pretty amazing that they haven't been no-hit recently. I tuned in to the game late today and wasn't even aware until the ninth there was a one-hitter going on - the hit came in the first inning, so there was no excitement. Is it sacrilegious to just wish that if the Pirates are going to be horrible, they'd at least find a more fun way to do it? I just wrote over at SB Nation Pittsburgh about how I was in San Diego in late 2006, when Chris Young took a no-hitter into the ninth against the Pirates and Joe Randa, of all people, broke it up with an utterly irrelevant homer. That was awful. Similarly, Yusmeiro Petit took a no-hitter into the eighth last August, and Ronny Cedeno broke it up in the eighth with a single that meant absolutely nothing.
I'd rather the Pirates not be horrible, obviously, and I'd rather they avoided situations in which getting no-hit was even a possibility. But if they're going to routinely get into one-hit and two-hit and three-hit games, it would be fun to at least get to see a no-hitter once in a while.
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we get enough bad press
we do not need to add no hitters to the blowout total. i disagree that being no hit would be fun.
+1
No shit, I thought that was a given.
by CabreraKilledMyChildhood on Jul 9, 2010 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Hate to say it...
but my interest in this team has hit a lifetime low. I know things are supposedly getting "better," but waiting for us to bottom out is like having lemon-covered toothpicks shoved under my fingernails.
Forget our lack of hitting, it seems like we have a general lack of strategy overall. DK pointed out in today’s game wrap that it took us nearly the entire series to finally figure out that we should be pitching him inside, something that wouldn’t probably be all that hard to scout… Is it that we don’t have the talent to execute, or that we don’t have the plan?
The Pittsburgh Pirates or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Loss
It’s discouraging if anyone (like me) unrealistically thought last year’s second half was rock bottom, whereas now the 09 Pirates resemble the 79 Pirates compared to the current squad.
There’s some high-end youth on this team, but not enough of it. The Bucs aren’t just about to turn the corner in a year or two, but the current FO was handled such an awful situation in 2007 with expiring contracts and only 3 prospects worth mentioning at all. Gonna take a little bit longer, but it still feels like we’re heading in the right direction. Maybe that’s just a hunch.
by Adam Reynolds on Jul 8, 2010 5:52 PM EDT up reply actions
And how many position prospects do we have in the minors now?? Honest prospects for ML play. Hmmm…Sanchez, Holt, D’Arnaud and Marte. That’s about it. We’re not that much better off now.
Well you could add Alvarez and Tabata to that list if we’re talking about guys NH has added. But then you could take away Marte since I don’t think NH signed him
Well, that depends...
…what you mean by “prospect”.
Did you leave off guys like Cunningham and Presley and Gorkys because you didn’t think of them, or just because you’re using a very restrictive definition of “prospect”?
Gorkys is a good-glove CF in the upper minors.
He’s not hitting well right now, but he’s still young and toolsy, and quite honestly I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t get at least a few cups of coffee as an outfield backup, even if he doesn’t develop into anything better than he already is.
he probably will
but i still think Thunder was talking about people who have a shot at being at least a semi-regular player…
OK, good enough.
That wasn’t really clear from your earlier post, which is part of the reason I asked.
dream on
And you will be a millionaire soooon!
Well said
It’s sad how indifferent I am to this team now. I used to tune in or listen to almost every game. Now I check the boxes to see how our few prospects fare. Sad times.
by Hitman Easler on Jul 8, 2010 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions
i get your point but..
at the same time i think if i watch us get no-hit ill finally jump off the clemente bridge
Outside of a handful of players I'm pulling for as critical to the Pirates' future,
this team is a freakin’ joke, and things won’t get better anytime soon.
i predict we will be no-hit at some point this season
i just hope it comes against at good pitcher, so he can be fully credited rather than our utterly putrid offense be blamed.
I was at the Yusmeiro Petit game last year.
It took me until the bottom of the seventh to become comfortable with seeing the Pirates be on the losing end of a perfect game. Of course, Petit promptly surrenders a walk and the hit to Cedeno, so that emotional conditioning was all for naught. On the one hand, I have seen enough stupid press about the Pirates to root against something like that happening. Lord knows it would have been the centerpiece of something like today’s Pirates article in Sports Illustrated. But on the other hand, I was with my grandparents that night, and all were commenting on how that was the closest they’ve ever been to seeing a no-hitter or perfect game, and they’re all over the age of 80. It helped to put the (near) history in perspective for me.
Seriously, though
As unfair as it is, if this continues it may cost Huntington his job. He did what they asked in restocking a barren organization as fast as he could, but because he couldn’t get enough talent to keep the major league team respectably bad instead of epicly bad, he may get whacked for his trouble. If that happens, the new guy is going to have the same bad hand and the same essential strategy. Pretty crappy situation all the way around.
by RichieHebner on Jul 8, 2010 6:23 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Both the farm not being as stocked and the current major league product are more indictments of Nutting and the Pirates finances than Huntington.
Because NH couldn’t acquire much of anything on the market and with a league-low payroll, the on-field product was bad.
Also because of the extremely low major league payroll and lack of FA flexibility, NH ended up with a bunch of “major-league ready” parts (in some cases at the expense of prospects to fill out the minor league ranks) just to complete the major league club’s roster.
Bottom line is NH did as well as can be expected with the hand he was dealt (including overall poor inherited talent as well as infamously “frugal” ownership).
by Adam Reynolds on Jul 8, 2010 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions
forget low payroll
If you want to win , you spend and take a money li=oss for 2 or 3 years, Pirates have not loss one cent in last 17 freakin years, and are MLB laughing stock !!!!!!
B U l l
Spend the money if you want to win !!!
I agree. Nutting certainly has not been eager so far to get the spending in the Cincinnati/Cleveland/Baltimore range (all similar markets) the past few years. We’ll see what happens going forward with the payroll situation as more talent gets into the system .
I can understand not trusting Nutting with how the current historically bad just over $30 million team has been, but it still remains to be seen what type of commitment he’ll have in the future.
by Adam Reynolds on Jul 8, 2010 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Actually, Pirates payroll just under $35 million.
Of course the Pirates have spent good money on the draft, although that’s less expensive than sustaining a good major league club.
by Adam Reynolds on Jul 8, 2010 11:50 PM EDT up reply actions
NH has done as good as can be expected? LMFAO
Aki,Eveland,Laroche,Hanson,Morton,Gorkys,Hart,Acsenio,Moss,Harrison,Morris,Loche
Tabata appears to have a chance to be a slap hitting average rf’er, OLLY a number 3 or 4 SP, Loche and Morris the same if everything goes perfect.
NH traded just about every “PLUS” producer and received “average or less” back. That is why we stink. He has single handedly killed this team and if he doesn’t sign both Allie and Tallion, his firing will be welcomed.
NH has to be the worst talent evaluator in baseball, and having a dozen number 4 and 5 sp’s doesn’t build a winner in the bigs, it might in altoona but this team has very little offense yet he drafts 75% pitchers, the first 2 great but after that?
By having all these back end sp’s along w/ limited offense, we’ll be underdogs most games as usual.
giving NH kudo’s for trading all stars for mid-lower prospects is a farce, anyone can trade producers away as there will always be takers, the key is getting guys who can make a difference in PGH, all he got were lower upside guys. That dooms this team for another few years, allie and tallion are the only hopes right now.
DanJenkins
You make some reasonable points, but I think you underestimate the player Tabata could become.
the only reasonable point he made
was that having a dozen number 4 and 5s doesnt make a big league team a winner… the rest is his usual…
How is the farm not being stocked...
…an indictment of Nutting? He was only a majority partner for one of Littlefield’s drafts, and when he saw how badly it turned out, he fired the guy.
Exactly
He sought information, got it, and when the dust cleared McClatchy was gone and after Matt Morris and Matt Wieters, so was Littlefield. Branch Rickey couldn’t clean up the mess left by McClatchy, Bonifay, Littlefield and Creech. Really, thus franchise began spinning out of control when Syd Thrift was fired. Effectively, they are trying to undo several decades of incompetence and mismanagement. Name one good GM since Thrift, leaving Huntington out because it hasn’t been long enough to judge him fairly. I’ve been trying to be fair to Coonelly since initially slamming him, but if he fires Huntington, I may flip back unless he hires God or someone who can do this by magic.
by RichieHebner on Jul 9, 2010 7:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
i'm 30 years old
And I never EVER want to experience the Buccos gettin no-hit.
18 goin on 20 years of losing in the summertime is bad enough.
by BadAndy on Jul 8, 2010 6:56 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
for those who have Directv or live out in the NYC area
State College Spikes are on SNY rite now
Tyler Waldron (2010 5th rd pick) is pitching
Brooklyn up 1-0 in 2nd
Gift Ngoepe 19 walks in 81 PAs (!) for SC so far
by BadAndy on Jul 8, 2010 7:23 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Nice plate discipline.
He was regarded as being fairly raw, technique-wise. Showing that kind of command of the strike zone so early is very encouraging.
I think the time is now
For Kyle Stark to consider limiting Bryan Morris for the rest of the year
I give you Exhibit A:
2IP 6H 4ER 1HBP 1WP
He pitched 76 innings last year and is approaching 100 this year. Just saying.
by BadAndy on Jul 8, 2010 7:54 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Agreeing with Charlie
I’d love to see the Pirates get no-hit one of these times that it’s completely obvious that they can’t hit for shit in a game and there’s really no point in watching it. If there’s a potential no-hitter involved, then at least it’s interesting.
I am on the fence about this
I would rather us play better, but reality is we can’t. If I can see some history once in awhile it wouldn’t suck that much.
I just wish we tried to have a better team instead of punting this one away
No way do I want to see them no-hit.
We are already the joke of the national media, perhaps deservingly, but I couldn’t deal with multiple days of highlights that are completely snarky.
Oswalt is an ace
one of the better in baseball, so a youn gline up would be shut down on many occasions by him. nothing to be ahamed of, it is good for th eyoung guys to face tough pitchers like him
Part of me
is pulling for the Buccos to be the worst team in the majors this year. Then again, I maybe higher than alot of people are on Anthony Rendon and Jackie Bradley Jr.
The glare of the spotlight is harsh, and the pressure that success breeds immense. We revere our heroes, but expect much. And criticism can come as easily as praise.
Maybe the Pirates get one piece at the top of the draft like Rendon who shows up sometime in '12 and really helps.
But there will still be about 15 gaping holes on the roster that the so-so farm system won’t be able to fill, and the Nuttings won’t pay to get anyone other than a Ryan Church Jr. or a Lastings Milledge II.
The Pirates are crap, will very probably be crap next year, and it’s highly possible they will be crap in ’12, too.
Let’s just hope that our few good ones in the majors stay healthy and develop and our farm system produces a few good ones in the next couple years so maybe we won’t lose 100+ games in ’11 and ’12.
It isn't fair
to root for more of this. It won’t accomplish anything, and will almost certainly make things worse. Nothing fails like failure. I keep thinking of the guy the New York Knights hired in The Natural, who intoned, “Losing is a disease.” He didn’t cure it, but a couple of Roy Hobbs’ would help.
by RichieHebner on Jul 9, 2010 7:19 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
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