The Pirates scored three or fewer runs in seven of A.J. Burnett’s 10 starts prior to Friday. Photo Credit: David Hague

Granted, wins and losses are not good statistics to judge a pitcher’s performance but what is troubling has less to do with Burnett and more to do with the Pirates offense. Burnett has been great at the top of the Pittsburgh rotation and the Pirate offense has shown the ability to score runs, yet somehow the two have not found a way to cross paths. One could argue that Burnett has pitched well enough to win the majority (if not all) of his starts but the Pirate bats have been hiding when he’s on the hill.

Prior to Friday’s game at Milwaukee, Burnett had started 10 games for Pittsburgh so far this season with the Pirates managing just four wins. In those games Pittsburgh has only scored more than five runs once (in a 6-5 win against Cincinnati on April 12). The only times the Pirates scored five in a Burnett start (which they have done twice with both coming in games against St. Louis) they’ve won. In the six losses the Pirates have scored 1, 0, 2, 1, 1 and 2 runs. Add the one run Pittsburgh scored Friday and that gives you a grand total of nine runs in the seven games Burnett has started the Pirates would go on to lose.

It has gotten to the point where one almost feels bad for Burnett. On Friday at Milwaukee he was at it again — seven innings pitched, three hits, six strikeouts, two runs — with the end result another Pittsburgh loss.

In his previous state against Houston he allowed just one run on five hits with seven strikeouts while lasting seven innings and, you guessed it, the Pirates lost. Before that he went seven innings on May 13 at Milwaukee with four runs allowed (three earned) to go with six strikeouts and no walks. Again, the Pirates lost.

While Burnett is not quite in 2012 Cliff Lee territory getting wins with the ace on the mound is something the Pirates are going to need to see a lot more of as the season gets into the long summer months and the team is (potentially) battling to stay with the Cardinals and Reds in the National League Central race. Being able to win games when your pitchers do not have their best stuff helps, but winning when they are on is equally, if not, more important.

Links and Notes

**Tim is away from the site this weekend so First Pitch will be passed around for a few days. Obviously I took over for today’s edition and we’ll have James Santelli on duty Saturday with John Dreker taking the reigns on Sunday.

**The 2013 Prospect Guide and the 2013 Annual are both available on the products page of the site. If you order them together, you’ll save $5.

**The newest Pirates Prospects Podcast is up and available for download or streaming. P3 Episode 5: Polanco the Top Prospect? Can Pirates Keep Winning? Mark Melancon Interview

**Karstens Feels Pain While Rehabbing Shoulder

**Baseball America’s Second Mock Draft Has the Pirates Taking Hitters

**Draft Prospect Watch: NCAA Tournament Talk and Reese McGuire News

**Minor League Schedule: Cole Gets The Afternoon Start Today

**Prospect Watch: Big Night For Allie, Taillon Gets Good Results Without Best Stuff

Jeff Karstens felt pain in his right shoulder while rehabbing on Friday.

Karstens had been rehabbing the injured shoulder with Triple-A Indianapolis when the setback occurred. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told Pirates Prospects he would have a decision to make about what role Karstens would have when he returned from the disabled list but now it appears that decision could be pushed back.

Kris Bryant and San Diego, took on San Francisco today, facing off against Alex Balog. The big right-hander has been getting mention recently as a possible first round pick. Baseball America had a special article on him recently worth checking out. It was a tough outing for Balog, who gave up six runs on 11 hits and four walks in six innings. Bryant went 1-for-4, with a walk and two runs scored. The walk was intentional and the hit was a single to lead off the game.

Bobby Wahl from Ole Miss never got to pitch this weekend because his team was eliminated from the SEC tournament on Thursday. Also not pitching this week is Jonathon Crawford, as his team was eliminated on Tuesday by Texas A&M.

Colin Moran from North Carolina seems to be the best bat from the college ranks that could possibly fall to the Pirates. On Friday night, his team took on Clemson. North Carolina scored five runs in the ninth inning to send it to extra innings. Moran didn’t help much in the win on the offense side, going 1-for-7, with a walk and no runs scored or RBI’s. The hit was a seventh inning single. North Carolina won 12-7 in 14 innings.

Stanford took on UCLA on Friday night with Mark Appel on the mound. He had a great outing, going eight innings, with one run allowed on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. He recorded nine strikeouts and threw 123 pitches. Austin Wilson went 1-for-3, with a single in Stanford’s 2-1 win.

DJ Peterson from New Mexico has been linked to the Pirates recently, more times than anyone else. He took on UNLV on Friday night and went 2-for-4 in his team’s 7-1 win. He had two singles, scored a run and struck out twice.

Aaron Judge went 1-for-4, with two strikeouts in his team’s 4-0 loss. Fresno State was eliminated from the Mountain West tournament with the loss. Judge had a single, run scored and walk in a 10-1 win over Nevada earlier in the day. Yesterday he hit his 12th homer of the season in a 6-4 with over Navy.

Notre Dame third baseman Eric Jagielo went 2-for-3 Wednesday in the first game of the Big East tournament. He had his 18th double and drove in two runs. On Thursday, he went 1-for-4, stealing his third base of the season. Notre Dame has won both games so far and they will play again tomorrow.

Ryan Eades from LSU, pitched today against Alabama and went seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk, while striking out four batters. He left with a 2-1 deficit, but LSU came back and won it late, helping Eades avoid what would have been just his second loss all season. Kendall Rogers had a report from the game that can be read here.

Last night, Marco Gonzales lost to San Francisco in the WCC tournament. The lefty from Gonzaga has really slipped in the rankings since being highly rated early on and his start on Thursday didn’t help. He went seven innings, giving up six runs on 11 hits and three walks. He struck out four batters and threw 130 pitches. It could be possible that he slips to the second round, giving the Pirates a chance at a polished/athletic lefty, with four pitches. He may not project to have huge upside, but he could move quickly through the system and being a lefty helps at PNC.

Draft Notes

Earlier today, we posted a recap of Baseball America’s second mock draft, which can be viewed here. Jim Callis had the Pirates taking Reese McGuire and Hunter Renfroe.

Jonathan Mayo continues his series, breaking down the draft by position. Today he had catchers, mentioning Reese McGuire, Jon Denney and Nick Ciuffo

While we are keeping the theme rolling, here is an article on Reese McGuire from MLB.com

Minor League Ball has an article detailing which players might have signability issues. This is a good link to keep in your favorites, when you see the Pirates pick some players later on that may have fallen in the draft.

JP Crawford, the highly ranked HS shortstop from California, had his team’s season end earlier this week, with a 6-3 loss. He went 0-for-3, drawing a walk. Crawford finished the year hitting .452 in 93 AB’s, with ten doubles, three triples and two homers. He had a 1.228 OPS and 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts.

Gerrit Cole defeated Buffalo last time they met

AAA: Indianapolis (34-15) @ Buffalo (26-20) 1:05pm
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (3-2, 3.75)
Yesterday’s Result: Indianapolis 6, Buffalo 5

Gerrit Cole will make his tenth start of the season this afternoon. He is coming off his worst start of the year, eight runs over 5.2 innings against Pawtucket on Sunday. Cole has pitched a total of 48 innings this season, giving up 36 hits, four homers and 23 walks, while picking up 35 strikeouts. Three of those homers he has served up, came against today’s opponent on 5/14, when he allowed four runs over six innings. Cole struck out 136 batters in 132 innings last year, but this season he has yet to pick up more than five strikeouts in any game. He has a 1.33 GO/AO ratio and a .214 BAA.

AA: Altoona (20-27) vs Richmond (23-23) 6:00pm
Probable starter: Stolmy Pimentel (2-2, 3.35)
Yesterday’s Result: Altoona 14, Richmond 4

Stolmy Pimentel will get his tenth start of the season tonight. He started the season off strong, going 2-0, 0.30 in five April starts. Since May has started however, he is 0-2, 7.33 in four outings. He has faced Richmond twice already this year with vastly different results. In April, he threw six shutout innings, striking out a season high eight batters. In May, he allowed six runs over 4.1 innings, his worst start of the year. Pimentel has been excellent against right-handed batters this year, holding them to a .190 BAA, while lefties are hitting .292 against him. Oddly enough, he has almost the same exact split at home and on the road. On the road, he is holding hitters to a .193 BAA, while in home starts, batters are hitting .293 against him.

High-A: Bradenton (20-28) @ St Lucie (26-20) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Eliecer Navarro (0-8, 3.78)
Yesterday’s Result: Bradenton 8, St Lucie 6

Eliecer Navarro will make his ninth start of the year tonight. He has also pitched once in relief. Navarro has been the victim of tough luck all season, allowing more than three earned runs just once all year (4 ER two starts ago). Despite that, he leads the organization in losses. He has faced St Lucie twice already this year, allowing five earned runs over 9.1 innings. In 47.2 innings this season, Navarro has given up just nine walks, while striking out 44 batters. He has yet to give up a walk or a home run to a left-handed batter this season.

Low-A: West Virginia (26-22) vs Lakewood (19-27) 7:05pm
Probable starter: Joely Rodriguez (3-3, 2.76)
Yesterday’s Result:  West Virginia 11, Lakewood 2

Joely Rodriguez will make his tenth start of the season tonight. He has been very strong since a slow beginning to his year. In his first four starts, he allowed 20 runs over his first 19.2 innings. Since then, Rodriguez has given up just two earned runs in his last five starts combined, a total of 29.1 innings. At home this year, he is 1-2, 3.16 in five starts. His last two home starts, he has given up one earned run over 12 innings and didn’t walk a batter in either game. Rodriguez has 39 strikeouts in 40 innings, with a 2.03 GO/AO ratio and a .263 BAA.

Recent Transactions

5/23 Vic Black placed on disabled list.

5/22 Orlando Castro assigned to Jamestown. Josh Smith added to West Virginia roster

5/20 Alex Dickerson placed on DL. Justin Howard added to Altoona roster.

5/19 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Altoona roster.

5/18 Jeff Karstens added to Altoona roster.

A look at how the current top 20 prospects did today.  Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors. If a player is in the majors, he will be removed, everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. Rankings are from the pre-season rankings, and links to each prospect writeup can be found by clicking the player names below. Players who weren’t in the original top 20 are linked to their player page on the site.

1. Gerrit Cole, RHP, Indianapolis (3-2, 3.75) - DNP

2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Altoona (3-5, 2.91) - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR

3. Gregory Polanco, CF, Bradenton (.319) - 1-for-4, BB

4. Alen Hanson, SS, Bradenton (.285) – 1-for-4, SB, BB

5. Luis Heredia, RHP, Extended Spring Training (Luis Heredia Close to Joining West Virginia)

6. Josh Bell, RF, West Virginia (.278) – 1-for-4, RBI, BB

7. Barrett Barnes, CF, West Virginia (.220) - Low-A DL

8. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, West Virginia (3-0, 2.31) – DNP

9. Kyle McPherson, RHP, Indianapolis (0-1, 19.29) – Triple-A DL

10. Nick Kingham, RHP, Bradenton (6-2, 3.21) - 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

11. Clay Holmes, RHP, West Virginia (1-3, 6.08) - DNP

12. Dilson Herrera, 2B, West Virginia (.319) - 2-for-4, 3 Runs, RBI, 2B

13. Tony Sanchez, C, Indianapolis (.304) – DNP

14. Wyatt Mathisen, C, West Virginia (.185) – DNP

15. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Bradenton (2-1, 6.10) – DNP

16. Vic Black, RHP, Indianapolis (0-2, 2.63) – Triple-A DL

17. Andy Oliver, LHP, Indianapolis (3-2, 2.87) - DNP

18. Jin-De Jhang, C, Extended Spring Training

19. Stolmy Pimentel, RHP, Altoona (2-2, 3.35) - DNP

20. Jordy Mercer, SS, Indianapolis (.333) - In Majors

ORDER YOUR 2013 PROSPECT GUIDE

The 2013 Prospect Guide is now available, and is the perfect resource to follow the minor league system during the 2013 season. You can order your copy on the products page of the site. Order together with the 2013 Annual and save $5!

DAILY SUMMARY

Top Hitter: Stetson Allie, 1B (.345) – 4-for-4, BB, 2B, 4 RBI

Home Runs: Matt Hague (3), Daniel Grovatt (2)

AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS  

Box Score

Result: Indianapolis 6, Buffalo 5

Starting Pitcher: Kris Johnson, LHP (5-3, 3.78) -5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 7 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Matt Hague, 1B (.302) – 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Tim Alderson, RHP (1.88) – 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Alex Presley, CF (.282) – 2-for-4, 2 2B, BB

Jerry Sands, RF (.189) – 1-for-4

Game Notes: Kris Johnson battled through some wildness(five walks, wild pitch) to go five innings, allowing two runs, while striking out seven. He threw 101 pitches on the night, 60 went for strikes. He was followed by Tim Alderson, who threw two scoreless innings. Jared Hughes got his second save with 1.1 scoreless of his own. He hasn’t allowed a run in his eight AAA appearances, covering nine innings. Matt Hague homered for the second game in a row, after hitting just one homer in his first 47 games. He was also the top hitter on Indianapolis for the second game in a row. The first place Indians moved to 34-15 on the year, the best record in the International League

AA: ALTOONA CURVE   

Taillon picked up the win in Altoona’s blowout

Box Score

Result: Altoona 14, Richmond 4

Starting Pitcher: Jameson Taillon, RHP (3-5, 2.91) – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Jarek Cunningham, 2B (.219) – 4-for-6, 2 RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Quinton Miller, RHP (0.00) – 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR

Adalberto Santos, 3B (.255) – 1-for-4, HR, BB

Andrew Lambo, LF (.290) – 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI

Game Notes: Jameson Taillon allowed just one run over five innings tonight, that run coming on a solo homer. The homer led off the game, an inning in which he also allowed a single and a walk. He had good overall results, but needed 98 pitches to get through those five innings, 58 of those pitches went for strikes. It was the fifth time he faced Richmond already this season, exactly half of his starts. Quinton Miller threw 1.1 scoreless innings, running his AA total to seven shutout innings. He has pitched four times since joining Altoona, three times against Richmond. It was a big game on offense for Altoona, as they pounded out 18 hits and drew nine walks. The 4-8 batters in the lineup all drove in two or more runs, with Carlos Paulino leading the way with four RBI’s. Everyone in the starting lineup, including Taillon, had at least one hit.

A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS

Box Score

Result: Bradenton 8, St Lucie 6

Starting Pitcher: Nick Kingham, RHP (6-2, 3.21) – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Daniel Grovatt, DH (.214) – 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Alen Hanson, SS (.285) – 1-for-4, BB, SB

Gregory Polanco, CF (.319) – 1-for-4, BB

Game Notes: Nick Kingham came into the game today leading the Florida State League in strikeouts, and while he didn’t rack up the strikeouts tonight, he was able to give his team six solid innings. He held St Lucie to just one run after the Marauders spotted him to a 6-0 first inning lead. Kingham walked four batters in the game, twice as many as any other start this season. He was followed by Kurt Yacko, who ran into trouble in his second inning of work, allowing four earned runs. It was just the second appearance for Yacko, who gave up three runs over three innings in his last outing. Zac Fuesser got the last four outs for his first save of the season. Despite scoring eight runs, Bradenton had just seven hits and three players were credited with RBI’s without picking up a hit in the game. Alen Hanson picked up his 11th stolen base on the year.

A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER

Box Score

Result: West Virginia 11, Lakewood 2

Starting Pitcher: Jake Burnette, RHP (10.38) – 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Stetson Allie, 1B (.345) – 4-for-4, BB, 2B, 4 RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Max Moroff, SS (.236) – 2-for-4, BB, 2 RBI, 3 Runs

John Kuchno, RHP (4.50) – 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Josh Bell, RF (.278) – 1-for-4, RBI, BB 2 Runs

Dilson Herrera, 2B (.319) –  2-for-4, 3 Runs, RBI, 2B

Game Notes: Stetson Allie led the offense today, reaching base all five times and driving in four runs to give him 45 RBI’s on the year in 46 games. West Virginia was helped out by seven Lakewood errors. Only three of the 11 Power runs were earned. Josh Bell drove in his 38th run. Dilson Herrera has eight hits in his last three games. Jake Burnette made his third start of the season and was able to match his innings total from his first two games, allowing just two runs in the process. He entered the game with a 16.62 ERA. Burnette got three of his outs by strikeout and six of the seven other outs came via ground balls. John Kuchno followed Burnette, making his first relief appearance after opening the season with eight straight starts. He ended up finishing the game and getting the win, throwing 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk, while striking out three.

Minor League Update:

**With the mid-season prospect rankings coming up, I give a view of what goes into my rankings and what I consider for each player. It’s not all about upside. If it was, Tyler Glasnow would be the number one prospect in the system. As for that number one prospect, the guy I’m leaning towards right now is Gregory Polanco.

**John Dreker joins the show to discuss the average mock draft rankings, and compares those rankings to his own personal rankings. We discuss why we wouldn’t want D.J. Peterson to be taken by the Pirates.

With James and Tom:

**A continued discussion of the potential regression of Jeff Locke.

**The Pirates pitching staff is for real, and is a big reason why the team is contending. We talk about A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, and Francisco Liriano and how they’re anchoring the rotation.

**The return of Charlie Morton and Jeff Karstens will bring some interesting decisions, and we talk about what the moves could be when those guys return.

**Is the other shoe going to drop? What should the expectations be for the Pirates?

**Why does James hate Ted Lilly?

Player Interview

**This week’s player interview is with Mark Melancon. Mark and James Santelli discuss his bounce back this year, Jason Grilli, Russell Martin, which starters have stood out to him in the rotation, and his nickname on the team. Mark also teases a new addition to the “Shark Tank” over the next week that the fans will enjoy.

Click here to download the show (right-click and “Save Link As”) or stream it below.

With the number nine pick, Callis has the Pirates taking prep catcher Reese McGuire. Moran was the previous pick, but went fifth overall this time around. Callis notes that the best case for the Pirates would be landing McGuire and D.J. Peterson.

Peterson ended up going 13th overall, one shy of the Pirates next pick. Another guy Callis has the Pirates passing on is Austin Meadows, who went tenth overall. He notes that Trey Ball would be a possibility, although Ball went one pick before the Pirates.

With the number 14 pick the Pirates are projected to take Hunter Renfroe. Callis has the Pirates leaning with a college bat here, noting that the Pirates will take Peterson if he’s there. He also lists Notre Dame third baseman Eric Jagielo, Samford outfielder Phillip Ervin, Stanford outfielder Austin Wilson, or Fresno State outfielder Aaron Judge. With the exception of Peterson, all of the other guys are projected in the 19-27 range, with the Cardinals getting two of those players.

Jeanmar Gomez represents the biggest strength of the 2013 Pirates. (Photo Credit: David Hague)

After recording the podcast today, I was talking with James and Tom about depth. We were specifically talking about the Dodgers, and how despite their mega payroll, they don’t really have a good team. They’ve had a lot of injuries, but who do they have behind those big salaries? Hanley Ramirez goes down, and Justin Sellers is their shortstop. It’s not like Dee Gordon was doing any better. They’ve lost a lot of pitchers to injuries, to the point where Matt Magill has made four starts, and Stephen Fife has made one. Keep in mind, this is a $216 M payroll.

That got me thinking about the Pirates and why they’re better this year than last year. The big reason is depth. Last year it was Andrew McCutchen carrying the offense. This year it’s a group effort. Last year when the rotation fell apart in August, the team fell apart. This year the rotation has fallen apart to the point where Jeanmar Gomez has made five starts. Yet the team is 5-0 in those starts, obviously because Gomez has The Will To Win. Neil Walker goes down for 15 days and Jordy Mercer comes up and starts belting homers. Guys like Vin Mazzaro and Bryan Morris have been stepping up in the bullpen. And there’s depth at pretty much every position in the minors.

Think about Gomez and the early season rotation for a second. Here was the depth chart in the pre-season:

1. A.J. Burnett

2. Wandy Rodriguez

3. James McDonald

4. Francisco Liriano

5. Jeff Locke

6. Kyle McPherson

7. Charlie Morton

8. Jeff Karstens

9. Gerrit Cole

10. Phil Irwin

11. Jeanmar Gomez

The Pirates would have had to go through two rotations to get to Gomez. And that’s pretty much what they’ve done. Liriano, Morton, and Karstens started hurt. Liriano came back, and Karstens and Morton are close. McDonald, McPherson, and Irwin got hurt during the season. Cole has struggled. And that brings us to Gomez in the rotation for the month of May, despite being the 11th best option in the pre-season. And that 11th best option has a 4.23 xFIP after today’s start. Meanwhile the 9th and 10th options for the Dodgers (Magill, Fife) have been horrible.

Sometimes I feel that it’s not all about how good your top five starters are. It’s more about how good your next five starters are. The reason the Pirates look like contenders right now isn’t because of A.J. Burnett, Andrew McCutchen, or any of the other big names. It’s because of smaller guys like Jeanmar Gomez, Vin Mazzaro, Justin Wilson, Jordy Mercer, and all of the other role players that have stepped up. That’s what contending teams do. They’re not built on 2-3 starting pitchers and 2-3 position players. They’re built on the entire 25-man roster, plus all of the guys in Triple-A who can step in if someone from that 25-man roster gets hurt or struggles. That’s the strength of the Pirates this year.

Links and Notes

**First Pitch will be taken over this weekend. I’ve got some friends coming in from out of town, and will be taking my first days off from the site since last January. That’s January 2012, unless you count when I moved, and I don’t because that’s not time off at all. While I’m out, Tom Bragg (Friday), James Santelli (Saturday), and John Dreker (Sunday) will be posting guest First Pitch articles, giving their thoughts on whatever subject they think up those nights. After the podcast goes up tomorrow, you won’t hear from me until Monday. Unless you count scheduled tweets. Or if you listen to the podcast over the weekend. Then obviously you’ll be hearing my voice. I’ll be back Monday. That’s what I’m saying.

**The 2013 Prospect Guide and the 2013 Annual are both available on the products page of the site. If you order them together, you’ll save $5.

**A new episode of the Pirates Prospects Podcast will go up tomorrow with an interview with Mark Melancon. Here is last week’s episode: P3 Episode 4: Are the Pirates For Real? Plus a Jameson Taillon Interview.

**Gerrit Cole Links: Two Reports Have Cole As A Number Two Starter.

**Pirates Attack Edwin Jackson Early In 4-2 Win, Sweep Cubs.

**Should the Pirates Go All In On International Signings This Year?.

**Vic Black Placed on the DL With a Left Oblique Injury.

**Prospect Watch: Tyler Glasnow Strikes Out 12 in 5 Innings; Allie Hits 13th Homer.

**Minor League Schedule: Taillon and Kingham Take the Mound Tonight.

**Draft Prospect Watch: Tournament Time As Draft Gets Closer.

Colin Moran and North Carolina, won their tournament opener 10-0 against Miami today. Moran went 2-for-4 in the rout, walking once and scoring three runs. Kent Emanuel, a 2010 pick of the Pirates, started the game and threw a gem, albeit with an odd stat line. He threw eight shutout innings, allowing four hits and two walks, with no strikeouts. Moran had been in a slump of sorts lately, striking out ten times in his last 38 AB’s, after having just nine strikeouts in his first 176 AB’s.

Jonathan Mayo has an article from today on Moran worth checking out. He also has another one taking a look at the best corner infielders in the draft, mentioning Kris Bryant and Moran at the top.

Kris Bryant from San Diego, took on BYU on Thursday night. The top-ranked third baseman, walked three times and was hit by a pitch in his first four plate appearances. He struck out in his first official AB in the seventh inning. In the tenth, he singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored the game-winning run on a double. Bryant scored three runs in the game. He is considered by almost all experts, to be a top three pick in this draft.

Jonathan Gray had perhaps his best outing of the season at the right time. Against Baylor tonight, he threw a complete game shutout, allowing three hits, one walk and he struck out 12 batters. He threw 121 pitches on the day. The game was delayed 3 1/2 hours by rain before it started, so Gray didn’t make this start under ideal circumstances. It is likely, he sealed the #1 spot with this game, if he didn’t already have it beforehand.

Ryne Stanek from Arkansas went tonight against a strong LSU team and he had an impressive outing. Stanek went eight innings, allowing one unearned run on six hits and three walks, while striking out four batters. There is a strong possibility that he could be available when the Pirates make their first pick, something no one would have said early in the season.

Not every team started early this week. Mark Appel and Austin Wilson from Stanford will both be first round picks. Their team won’t start conference tournament play this week, they still have one week left in their regular schedule. Appel will take on UCLA tomorrow at home.

DJ Peterson took on Nevada today and went 1-for-3, with a homer run, a walk and two runs scored. The home run was his 17th of the year. He has really moved up the draft charts, recently being named often in the Pirates range. Baseball America has an article on DJ Peterson, as well as his brother Dustin, who will also go early in this year’s draft.

Nevada’s ace is Braden Shipley, a hard-throwing righty, who will go somewhere in the top ten this season. He took the mound yesterday against Aaron Judge and Fresno State. Shipley went eight innings, allowing three runs(two earned) on seven hits and two walks. He struck out eight and threw 122 pitches. Judge went 0-for-3, striking out twice and walking two times. He scored a run and stole his 12th base. Both strikeouts were against Shipley, while one walk came off a reliever.

Phillip Ervin and Samford took a 2-1 loss today to Appalachian State, ending their season. Ervin went 0-for-4, with a run scored and stolen base. He finished the season batting .337 in 55 games, with 14 doubles, 11 homers and 21 stolen bases in 23 attempts. He had 39 walks and 25 strikeouts. Ervin finished third on his team in average, second in homers and first in stolen bases.

Hunter Renfroe from Mississippi State, has played the last three days, including a 17 inning game on Tuesday against Missouri. He went 2-for-7 in that game, with two singles, a walk, two strikeouts and an RBI. On Wednesday against South Carolina, he had a single and run scored in five trips to the plate. Against Texas A&M, Renfroe continued his slow streak, going 0-for-5 in his team’s 6-4 win.

Draft Notes

Baseball America did a quick summary of the best tools in this year’s draft class, splitting them up between college and high school.  They listed three players in each category mentioned. Among players recently linked to Pirates:

Colin Moran- Best strike zone judgement, best pure hitter, closest to majors

DJ Peterson- Best pure hitter, best power hitter, best strike zone judgement

Phillip Ervin- Best pure hitter

Clint Frazier(HS)-  Best power hitter, best arm, closest to majors

Reese McGuire(HS)- Best defense

Austin Meadows(HS)- Best athlete, best pure hitter, best strike zone judgement, closest to majors

Trey Ball(HS)- Best athlete

Jameson Taillon struck out ten in his last outing

AAA: Indianapolis (33-15) @ Buffalo (26-19) 7:05pm
Probable starter: Kris Johnson (4-3, 3.80)
Yesterday’s Result: Indianapolis 7, Buffalo 3

Kris Johnson will make his eighth start of the season tonight. He has also pitched twice in relief. He has a 5.04 road ERA this season in 25 innings. At home he has a 2.04 ERA in 17.2 innings. He has pitched much better as a starter this year as well, posting a 2.79 ERA in the role. Johnson hasn’t been sharp as of late, allowing seven runs on ten hits and four walks over 12 innings, covering his last two starts.

AA: Altoona (19-27) vs Richmond (23-22) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Jameson Taillon (2-5, 3.02)
Yesterday’s Result: Reading 2, Altoona 2(suspended)

Jameson Taillon will start for the tenth time this season tonight. Amazingly, it will be his fifth start against Richmond. In the previous four starts against them, he has shut them out twice, both times allowing two hits. In the other two games, he has allowed eight runs on 16 hits over 12 innings. Taillon’s 57 strikeouts ranks him fourth in the Eastern League, just three behind the league leader. His ERA ranks eighth in the league, second on Altoona to Casey Sadler.

High-A: Bradenton (19-28) @ St Lucie (26-19) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Nick Kingham (5-2, 3.42)
Yesterday’s Result: Bradenton 12, Tampa 4

Nick Kingham will get his tenth start of the season tonight. He has pitched a total of 47.1 innings, allowing 39 hits, four homers and nine walks. He has struck out 58 batters this year, the highest total in the Florida State League. His 1.01 WHIP is the 3rd best in the FSL. Two starts ago, Kingham had a very rough outing, giving up four runs in 2/3 of an inning before being pulled. He rebounded great in his last start(against St Lucie), allowing one run over seven innings, walking none and striking out nine batters.

Low-A: West Virginia (25-22) vs Lakewood (19-26) 7:05pm
Probable starter: Jake Burnette (0-1, 16.62)
Yesterday’s Result:  West Virginia 3, Lakewood 2 in 12 innings

Jake Burnette will get his third start of the season today. In his season opener 11 days ago, he went 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits(one homer) and three walks. He struck out seven batters. In his last game, he lasted just 2/3 of an inning, giving up six runs on three hits and two walks. Burnette pitched five games for State College last year before being shutdown due to elbow soreness. He went 1-2, 4.71 in 22 innings and recorded eight strikeouts, just one more than he had in his season debut this year.

Recent Transactions

5/23 Vic Black placed on disabled list.

5/22 Orlando Castro assigned to Jamestown. Josh Smith added to West Virginia roster

5/20 Alex Dickerson placed on DL. Justin Howard added to Altoona roster.

5/19 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Altoona roster.

5/18 Jeff Karstens added to Altoona roster.

Rich Robertson (1968) Lefty reliever for the 1993-94 Pirates. He was a ninth round pick by the Pirates in the 1990 draft out of Texas A&M. Rich was drafted 23 rounds later by the Padres in 1989 but chose not to sign. He was a starter in the minors during all but one season(1999), but when he came to the Pirates in both 1993 and 1994, it was in a relief role. Robertson pitched two early season games for Pittsburgh in 1993, making his debut on April 30th. He was then recalled in September, pitching another seven times. He threw a total of nine innings, with six runs allowed. In 1994, Rich was called up in mid-July and saw more time on the mound, getting extended outings during blowout games. In eight appearances through early August, he threw 15.2 innings, giving up 12 runs on twenty hits and ten walks. The Pirates put him on waivers in November and he was picked up by the Twins. Robertson pitched four more years in the majors, two of them as a regular in the Twins rotation. He made 57 starts between the 1996-97 seasons, going 15-29 with an ERA well over 5.00, though he did lead the AL in shutouts(three) that first year. Rich finished his career in the minors in 2000, briefly making an unsuccessful return to the Pirates system during the 1999 season.

Dennis Moeller (1967) Lefty reliever for the 1993 Pirates. The Pirates acquired Moeller from the Royals along with pitcher Joel Johnston on November 19,1992 in exchange for Jose Lind. He pitched ten games in relief for Pittsburgh, getting hit hard in five of those games. Dennis lasted with the Pirates from Opening Day until the end of May, finishing with a 9.92 ERA in 16.1 innings. He was let go by Pittsburgh after the season and resigned with the Royals but never made the majors again. Before joining the Pirates, his only major league experience was five games(four starts) for the 1992 Royals. He went 0-3 7.00 in 18 innings. The Royals had drafted him the 17th round of the 1986 amateur draft. While Moeller didn’t pick up a win in Kansas City and his brief time in Pittsburgh went poorly, he was able to pick up his only major league win on April 15th, throwing two scoreless innings against the Padres in the Pirates 5-4, 13 inning victory.

Dave Pagan (1949) Reliever for the Pirates on September 27,1977. The Pirates acquired Pagan on July 27,1977 in exchange for pitcher Rick Honeycutt. Dave ended up pitching just one more major league game, while Honeycutt began his major league career that August and it lasted 21 seasons. Pagan’s one appearance for the Pirates came in the sixth inning of a late-season game the Pirates were losing 7-1 to the Mets. In his first inning, he struck out the side, then punched out the first batter he saw in the seventh inning. Pagan finished the game by retiring five of the last six batters he faced, allowing just a single to Lee Mazzilli. That three inning scoreless appearances ended up being his last game. Dave remained in the Pirates system until 1979, his last year of pro ball. Prior to joining the Pirates, he pitched parts of five seasons(1973-77) in the majors, appearing with the Yankees, Orioles and Mariners. Pagan went 4-9 4.96 in 85 major league games, 18 as a starter.

Fritz Ostermueller (1907) Lefty pitcher for the 1944-48 Pirates. The Pirates purchased him on June 1,1944 from Syracuse of the International League. Fritz had been with the Dodgers to start the season, but he was sold to Syracuse after Brooklyn put him on waivers and no one put a claim on him. He refused to report and was put back on the market, where Pittsburgh was able to purchase his contract. Ostermueller was in his 11th season in the majors, with a record standing at 65-73, four times winning at least ten games in a season, the last coming during the 1939 season. He went right in the Pirates rotation and pitched the best ball of his career over the rest of the 1944 season. Fritz went 11-7 2.73, throwing 204.2 innings. He missed three months of the 1945 season after he was called into service during WWII. He returned to the Pirates in August of 1945, and while that season finished slow, he was back to his 1944 form the next year. Ostermueller went 13-10 2.84 in 1946, leading the Pirates in wins, as they went just 63-91 on the season. The Pirates were just as bad in 1947, but Fritz still finished 12-10, again leading the team in wins. At the age of 40 in 1948, he went 8-11 4.42 in 134.1 innings. The Pirates released him at the end of the season, ending his playing career. He went 49-42 3.48 in 118 games for the Pirates, finishing his major league career with 114 wins. He also won 110 minor league games.

Elmer Cleveland (1862) Third baseman for the 1888 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. On June 16,1888 the Pirates traded third baseman Art Whitney to the Giants for Cleveland. Whitney was a holdout that season, so the Pirates had to move him or they would’ve ended up getting nothing. In thirty games for Pittsburgh, Elmer hit .222 with nine RBI’s and ten runs scored. His defense was well-below average, making 14 errors. On August 29th, he hit two homers against Mark Baldwin of the Chicago White Stockings, his only two homers while with the team. It was the second and third time he homered off Baldwin that year, with the first one coming in early May, which was also his first major league homer. The odd part about that was the fact Cleveland only hit four career home runs. He returned to the minors in 1889, playing two seasons before finishing his major league career in 1891 with the Columbus Solons of the American Association. Cleveland’s only other major league experience came in 1884 for the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association, a short-lived major league that was well below the level of competition that the AA or NL provided. He hit .322 that year, with 24 runs scored in 29 games. Elmer was the cousin of U.S. President Grover Cleveland.

Jolly Roger Rewind: September 15, 1978

Phil Garner’s first-inning grand slam—his second slam in as many games—led the Pirates to their seventeenth consecutive home victory, a 6-1 triumph over the Expos.

With one out in the first, Omar Moreno doubled to left field off former Bucco Woodie Fryman and moved to third when Dave Parker beat out a chopper to shortstop for a single. One out later, Willie Stargell walked to load the bases.

Garner worked the count full, and then drove a Fryman slider over the wall in left center for an insurmountable 4-0 lead. A day earlier, the Bucco third baseman had broken open a close game with a sixth-inning grand slam against St. Louis’ Bob Forsch. Garner’s slam against the Expos made him the eighth player in major-league history—and the first National Leaguer in seventy-seven years—to hit grand slams in consecutive games.

The quick-strike offense gave Bruce Kison all the scoring he would need. Kison kept the Expos scoreless until the eighth inning, when four singles in a row produced a run and loaded the bases with one out. But Ed Whitson entered the game and struck out Gary Carter and Lance Parrish to end the inning. When Whitson, in turn, opened the ninth by allowing back-to-back singles, Chuck Tanner called on Kent Tekulve for his eighty-second appearance of the season. Tekulve, rebounding from a shaky outing the night before, retired all three Montreal batters he faced to close out the victory.

The Pirates, winners of four in a row after a five-game losing streak, moved to three games back of first-place Philadelphia, with all eyes on a four-game season-closing series at Three Rivers between the intrastate rivals, two weeks away.

Box score and play-by-play

The Pittsburgh Press game story

Jerry Don Gleaton (1957) Lefty reliever for the 1992 Pirates. He was a first round draft pick in 1979 by the Rangers that went right to the majors for one game, before making his minor league debut. Despite that quick debut, Gleaton didn’t spend a full season in the majors until 1990 with the Tigers. That season he posted a 2.94 ERA in 57 relief appearances. Prior to that, he had appeared in majors during parts of nine seasons, compiling a 10-18 4.72 record in 180 games. His numbers slipped in 1991, down to a 4.06 ERA and he was let go after the season. Pittsburgh signed him as a free agent just days after Opening Day in 1992 and he ended up pitching five games at AAA and 23 in the majors before being released in July. He went 1-0 4.26 in 31.2 innings. He was signed by the Giants for the rest of the season, then inked with the Marlins in 1993, but his days in Pittsburgh would be his last major league experience.

Frank Carpin (1938) Lefty reliever for the 1965 Pirates. He spent exactly one year with the Pirates and pitched well, but his major league career lasted just ten more games elsewhere. In the November 1964 Minor League draft, the Pirates picked Carpin up from the Yankees. The following November they lost him to the Astros in the Rule V draft. During the 1965 season, he went 3-1 3.18 in 39 games, throwing a total of 39.2 innings. He had some shaky control, walking 24 batters in his limited time, but he was still able to keep the damage to a minimum. With Houston in 1966, he had a 7.50 ERA in 10 games, pitching just six innings. That would be the extent of his major league time and he never pitched in pro ball after the 1966 season. Frank pitched eight seasons in the minors, going 60-57 3.55 in 279 games, 113 as a starter. He was 4-0 2.67 in 1965 while with the Pirates AAA affiliate.

Fred Green (1933) Lefty reliever for the 1959-61 and 1964 Pirates. He was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1952, taking seven seasons to make it to the majors for the first time. Green made the Opening Day roster in 1959, though he didn’t last long before being sent down. He ended up pitching 17 games for the Pirates that year, posting a 3.17 ERA in 37.1 innings. The World Series winning 1960 season ended up being his only full season in the majors. He went 8-4 3.21 in 45 appearances, throwing 70 innings. Fred got hit hard in the World Series, allowing ten runs in four innings. He struggled with the Pirates in 1961, getting sent to the minors, then eventually was put on waivers, where the Senators picked him up. Green threw five games for Washington in 1962, spending the rest of his time in the minors prior to his May 1963 release. He resigned a short time later with the Pirates and pitched well in eight early season appearances during the 1964 season, allowing one run and no walks in 7.1 innings, but he was still sent back to the minors in June. Fred ended up pitching in the Pirates system until the end of the 1965 season, his last year in pro ball. He went 98-88 in 12 minor league seasons.

Don Williams (1931) Pitcher for the 1958-59 Pirates. He was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1953, but shortly thereafter, he missed two full seasons to military service. When he returned in 1956, he pitched well for Lincoln of the Western League(A-ball), but returned to the level the next season as well. Don went 15-6 2.98 in 1957, pitching 142 innings over his 60 relief appearances. He went to AAA Salt Lake City in 1958 as was even better, earning a September call-up to the Pirates. He pitched twice for Pittsburgh, throwing a total of four innings, allowing three runs. The following season he was recalled in May, getting into six games for the Pirates, allowing nine runs in 12 innings. After spending the rest of the 1959 season, and all of 1960 in the minors, Williams was sold to the White Sox in 1961. The rest of his major league career consisted of three appearances for the 1962 Athletics. He had identical 6.75 ERA’s in each of his two brief trials with the Pirates.

Jake Goodman (1853) First baseman for the 1882 Pittsburgh Alleghenys and the fifth place hitter in the first game in franchise history. Goodman started his pro career by playing for the first minor league team in baseball history, the Pittsburgh Allegheny(no S at the end like the major league team five years later). He played two seasons in the majors, the first coming in 1878 with the Milwaukee Grays. That year he hit .246 with 27 RBI’s and 28 runs scored in 60 games, making 42 errors at first base, the most in the league at that position. He was the everyday first baseman, playing all but one game that season for a team that finished 15-45(the team played 61 games, one was a make-up for a tie). Jake played in the minors in 1879, then next appeared in pro ball as the Alleghenys’ Opening Day first baseman, batting fifth in the order. He did well in his limited time with the team, hitting .317 in ten games, but he was soon replaced by Chappy Lane, an outstanding fielder, who could barely hit. Goodman never appeared in another major league game, finishing his career off in the minors in 1886, playing his third season in a row in his hometown of Lancaster, Pa.

Jolly Roger Rewind: September 14, 1982

The Pirates parlayed a major-league record-tying power display into a 15-5 rout of the Cubs at Three Rivers Stadium.

With rookie starter Lee Tunnell struggling in the sequel to his dazzling major-league debut, the Bucs spotted the Cubs a 4-0 lead in the top of the third. One out into the bottom of the third, however, the Pirates commenced a three-inning-long race to the bat rack against Chicago starter Dickie Noles and relievers Mike Proly, Ken Kravec and Randy Stein. Of the twenty-three Bucco batters between Dale Berra’s third-inning-opening strikeout and Lee Lacy’s fifth-inning-ending strikeout, twelve hit safely, three more drew walks, and fifteen crossed home plate.

The most memorable moments in the hit parade came from Richie Hebner and Bill Madlock. In the bottom of the third, the Pirates had cut the deficit to 4-1 when Hebner, playing right field in place of an injured Dave Parker, stepped to the plate against Noles with two out. He hit a 1-0 fastball over the right field fence for a grand slam, giving the Pirates a 5-4 advantage.

An inning later, Bucs again occupied all three bases with two out, and Madlock batted against Proly. The Bucco third baseman drove Proly’s pitch over the left-field fence for the team’s second grand slam in as many innings and a 9-4 lead.* The Pirates had become the thirty-first team in major-league history to hit two grand slams in a game; Arky Vaughan and Earl Grace had previously turned the trick for the 1933 Bucs.

Randy Niemann, a periodic member of the Bucco bullpen that season, took over when Tunnell faltered, started the offensive eruption with a single off Noles, and earned his first victory since 1979 by recording five outs over the third and fourth innings. Larry McWilliams, regularly a starter, then came out of the bullpen to earn an unusual five-inning save.

The victory left the fourth-place Pirates a mere three and a half games behind the first-place Cardinals, with eighteen games remaining in the season.**

Box score and play-by-play

The Pittsburgh Press game story

* Madlock sandwiched third-inning and fifth-inning sacrifice flies around the grand slam. He finished the night with an unusual box-score line of “2 1 1 6.”

** Despite the Bucs’ persistence in the pennant race, a mere 4,822 fans witnessed the game, following the audience of 2,859 at the previous night’s 7-3 Chicago victory. In comments to The Pittsburgh Press, Chuck Tanner cited the area’s struggling economy as limiting crowds at Three Rivers: “The fans who come out are really good fans. We’re in a depressed area with all of the unemployment. I get a lot of mail from fans who say they used to come out but now they can’t afford it. They listen to all the games, though, and we have a big radio audience.” Hebner offered similar sentiments: “A game like this would have drawn 50,000 in Detroit, but I’m not going to knock people for not coming because they are out of work.”

Andy LaRoche (1983) Third baseman for the 2008-10 Pirates. He was originally signed in 2003 by the Dodgers, after they took him in the 39th round of the amateur draft. LaRoche was also drafted a year earlier by the Padres(21st round), but decided to go back to college. He quickly established himself as a top prospects in the Dodgers system, getting rated in Baseball America’s top 100 after one full season. Over the next three seasons, he would make their top 100 list, ranked as high as 19th overall twice. Andy had two trials with the Dodgers(2007-08), struggling each time, before the Pirates acquired him at the 2008 trading deadline in the Jason Bay deal. LaRoche went right in as the starter at third base for the Pirates, starting(and completing) 45 of the last 50 games of the season. He hit just .152 with three homers and 12 RBI’s in 183 plate appearances.

In 2009, Andy was again the starting third baseman, playing 150 games, 142 as a starter. He hit .258 with 12 homers, 29 doubles and 64 RBI’s in 590 plate appearances. LaRoche finished as the team leader in games played, hits, doubles and RBI’s. His 2010 season did not go well, losing his starting spot when Pedro Alvarez was called to the majors. Andy batted .206, with only 16 RBI’s in 102 games. He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Oakland A’s. LaRoche played 40 games last year for the A’s, hitting .247 with no homers and five RBI’s. He signed with the Indians this year, spending the first two months at AAA before he being released. Andy then signed with the Red Sox, finishing the year at AAA Pawtucket. His brother Adam played for the 2007-09 Pirates and his father Dave, pitched 14 seasons in the majors.

Armando Rios (1971) Outfielder for the 2001-02 Pirates. He was originally signed in 1994 by the Giants as an undrafted free agent. Rios didn’t make his major league debut until weeks before his 27th birthday, getting a brief trial during the 1998 season. In 1999, he played 72 games for the Giants, hitting .327 with seven homers and 29 RBI’s. That performance earned him his first full season in the majors the following year. In what turned out to be his only full injury-free season in the majors, Rios hit .266 with ten homers and 50 RBI’s in 115 games, 50 of them as a starter. The Pirates acquired Rios and pitcher Ryan Vogelsong on July 30,2001 from the San Francisco Giants for Jason Schmidt(see link below) and John Vander Wal. He was hitting .260 with 14 homers and 50 RBI’s at the time of the deal. Armando tore his ACL just two games into his time with the Pirates. The play that ended his season came in San Francisco on a pop up off the bat of Jason Schmidt. Returning in 2002, he missed some time that year as well with minor ailments, finishing with a .264 average and 24 RBI’s in 76 games. Rios was released by the Pirates following the 2002 season when they balked at going to arbitration with him. He played 49 games for the 2003 White Sox, then spent the rest of his career in the minors, finishing in 2005 in Independent Ball.

Denny Neagle (1968) Pitcher for the 1992-96 Pirates. He was originally a third round pick in 1989 of the Twins. The lefty-throwing Neagle made his major league debut two years later, pitching seven games for Minnesota. On March 17,1992, the Pirates acquired Neagle, along with Midre  Cummings from the Twins, in exchange for John Smiley, who happened to be celebrating his 27th birthday that day. Denny pitched out of the bullpen his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, with lackluster results. Even in 1994, when he became a full-time starter, he went just 9-10 5.12 in 24 outings. Then the strike happened, the 1994 season ended and the 1995 season started a few weeks late. Things clicked for Neagle over the long off-season. He came back and went 13-8 3.43, leading the NL in starts(31) and also with 209.2 innings pitched. The following year he was even better, although he didn’t last in Pittsburgh the entire season. On August 28,1996, the Pirates traded Neagle to the Atlanta Braves for Jason Schmidt and two minor league players. At the time of the trade, he was 14-6 3.05 in 27 starts. They unfortunately got rid of him one year too soon, because he won twenty games for the Braves in 1997, then began a slow decline in performance, ending with three tough years of pitching(and one missed year) in Colorado. Denny went 124-92 4.24 in his career over 13 seasons in the majors.

Tom Parsons (1939) Starting pitcher for the Pirates on September 5,1963. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates in 1957, making his debut in the minors at the age of seventeen. Parsons was a 6″7 righty, who pitched three years in the low minors, prior to moving up in 1960 to AAA. He would spend four full seasons at that level before getting his major league debut in 1963 as a September call-up. On Sept. 5th, Parsons started in Milwaukee against the Braves and lost 8-0, going 4.1 innings, with six runs(five earned) allowed on seven hits, with two walks and two strikeouts. In the third inning, he allowed a three-run homer to Hall of Fame third baseman Eddie Mathews. That would end up being Tom’s only game for the Pirates. The following September he was sold to the Mets, who used him four times that year, then he saw regular action during the 1965 season. That year he went 1-10 4.67 in 11 starts and 24 relief appearances. Tom spent his last four seasons of pro ball(1966-69) back in the minors, three of those years with the Astros organization after the Mets traded him there for Jerry Grote. Tom turns 73 years old today.

Jolly Roger Rewind: September 13, 1970

Granted a reprieve when Matty Alou dropped Willie Smith’s apparent game-ending fly ball to center field, the Cubs rallied for two runs with two outs in the ninth inning and defeated the first-place Pirates 3-2 at Wrigley Field.

On a rainy afternoon, Bucco starter Steve Blass took a five-hitter—with none of Chicago’s hits having come after the third inning—and 2-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth. He starting the ninth by retiring Johnny Callison and pinch-hitter Paul Popovich easily. Cubs’ manager Leo Durocher then sent up Willie Smith to bat for his own starting pitcher, Bill Hands.

Smith lofted a routine fly ball in the direction of center field and a waiting Alou. Bob Prince, deploying the “can of corn” metaphor that he used to describe fly balls bound for the leathery fate of an outfielder’s glove, informed the Sunday television audience “Well, there goes 210 pounds of golden bantam.” The wind carried the ball towards the infield, but Alou waved his arms and put up his glove for the one-handed catch. Victory seemed certain.

But Alou dropped the ball, allowing Smith to reach second base. From that point, the Pirates’ downfall was swift. Don Kessinger hit Blass’ next pitch for a single to right field, scoring pinch-runner Ken Rudolph to tie the game. When Glenn Beckert hit Blass’ next offering into left for another single, Danny Murtaugh summoned reliever George Brunet to put out the fire.

Bucco shortstop Freddie Patek moved towards second in hopes that Brunet would attempt to pick Kessinger off second, but the veteran left hander, acquired from the Washington Senators just two weeks earlier, threw a pitch to Billy Williams. Williams singled to left, possibly within Patek’s reach had he been playing a normal shortstop position, and Kessinger came home with the winning run.

In the aftermath of this stunning defeat, Blass supported his center fielder. “I’ve messed up a hundred times on the mound, and I’m not about to put the blame on Alou,” he told The Pittsburgh Press. “He’s picked me up a hundred times with his bat, and I could have picked him up today by getting Kessinger out.”

Alou sounded disconsolate: “I have no excuse. I should have caught the ball easy. I knew the wind was blowing in [at something like 17 miles per hour] and I kept coming in and in and in after the ball was hit. I feel bad inside about it.”

Thanks to the Mets’ thirteen-inning loss to St. Louis, the Pirates remained in first place in the National League East, but the race tightened further. The Bucs maintained a half-game lead over New York, with the Cubs just a game out of first. Nevertheless, the defeat seemed to portend disaster. “The Pirates may have lost the pennant today at windy Wrigley Field,” wrote Charley Feeney in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Box score and play-by-play

The Pittsburgh Press game story

Franquelis Osoria (1981) Relief pitcher for the 2007-08 Pirates. He was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic as an amateur free agent in 1999 by the Dodgers. He made it to the majors in 2005 and had his best season, posting a career-low 3.94 ERA in 24 appearances, covering 29.2 innings. Osoria struggled badly with the Dodgers the next year, with a 7.13 ERA in his 12 outings. That December, the Pirates picked him up off waivers. He was pitching well at AAA until being recalled in early August. Franquelis pitched 25 times for the Pirates in 2007, compiling a 4.76 ERA in 28.1 innings. In each of his first three seasons in the majors, he finished with an 0-2 record. In 2008, Osoria pitched a career high 43 games, and while he had a 4-3 record, he did not pitch well for the most part, finished with a 6.08 ERA in 60.2 innings. He was released by the Pirates after the season, signing with the Royals a couple months later, although he never pitched again.

Mike Roesler (1963) Pitcher for the 1990 Pirates. He was originally drafted in the 17th round of the 1985 amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He was a starter his first two years in the Reds system, then moved to relieving in 1987, getting to the majors two years later. The Reds called him up in August of 1989, pitching him 17 times out of the bullpen. Mike was 0-1 3.96 in 25 innings over the last two months of the season. The Pirates acquired him on April 3,1990 along with infielder Jeff Richardson, in exchange for outfielder Billy Hatcher. During the first three weeks of the 1990 seasons, teams were allowed to carry 27 players on their roster due to the shortened Spring Training, which was caused by a lockout. Roesler and Tom Prince both made the team because of the new rule. In those three weeks before being sent back down on April 29th(day before rosters reduced to 25), Mike made five relief appearances, giving up two runs in six innings of work. He never returned to the majors, pitching in the Pirates system until late in the 1992 season. He finished that year with the Royals AAA club, then finished his career the next season in the Kansas City system.

Trench Davis (1960) Center fielder for the 1985-86 Pirates. He was signed by the Pirates in 1980 as an undrafted amateur free agent. As a twenty year old in 1981, the Pirates sent him to full-season ball with Greenwood of the South Atlantic League, where he put up strong numbers. He hit .298 with 73 RBI’s, 70 runs scored and 31 stolen bases in 141 games. Trench was moved up to AAA the next year, skipping two levels and still performed decent, hitting .268 with 80 runs scored and 42 stolen bases in 141 games. Despite that performance, he still ended up spending half of the next season in AA. From the time he joined AAA Hawaii in the Pacific Coast League in 1983, Davis would spend 3 1/2 seasons with the team, without getting much of a shot at the majors. He played two June 1985 games in center field, then returned the next season for 15 more games in May. In his 17 Pirates games, he hit .133 with an RBI and no walks, giving him a lower OBP than average due to one sacrifice fly. Trench became a free agent after the 1986 season, signing with the Atlanta Braves shortly after hitting the market. He played his last six major league games with the Braves in 1987, getting three pinch hit appearances and three pinch running spots. Davis went to Mexico to play in 1988, finishing his playing career four years later.

George Freese (1926) Third baseman for the 1955 Pirates. He was a member of four different organizations before joining the Pirates, playing just one major league game prior to his trade to Pittsburgh. George was originally signed by the Dodgers in 1948, staying with Brooklyn until the St Louis Browns took him in the December 1952 Rule V draft. From there he was purchased by the Detroit Tigers in early April of 1953, then sold to the Chicago Cubs a month later. The Pirates acquired George from the Cubs on June 4,1953 in the Ralph Kiner deal. He would remain in the minors until Opening Day in 1955, when he made the Pirates as a bench player. Sid Gordon(same link as Tom Prince above) was at third base to begin the year, but quickly lost the starting job due to a poor start. Freese would start every game for the Pirates, from April 24th until June 12th, at third base.

Two days after his last game, he was sent to the Pirates farm team in Hollywood, while the Pirates got back Cuban pitcher, Lino Donoso. At the same time, the Pirates also got back twin infielders Johnny and Eddie O’Brien. They had been serving in the Army prior to the season and were working their way back into shape, prior to rejoining the team. Freese finished with a .257 average and 22 RBI’s in 51 games. After the season ended, the Pirates lost him to the Cubs in the 1955 Minor League draft. George would go six seasons before he played in the majors again, making his last nine appearances with the 1961 Cubs. He then began to manage in the minors, the first three years as a player/manager, followed by another nine seasons as a minor league manager. George is the brother of Pirates infielder Gene Freese.

Jolly Roger Rewind: September 12, 1947

Ralph Kiner’s two home runs—capping a major-league record slugging spree of eight homers in four games—led the Pirates to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Braves at Forbes Field.

The twenty-four-year-old Bucco left fielder had commenced his assault on the record books two days earlier with two solo home runs against the New York Giants. Boston came to Pittsburgh for a doubleheader the next night, and Kiner crushed one homer in the first game and three in the nightcap, equaling the major-league record for most home runs in a twinbill.*

Kiner’s bat did not rest in the fourth game. Provoking, in the words of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a “tremendous ovation” from a “wildly cheering crowd of 21,012” every time he batted, Kiner carved out another niche in baseball history. With two outs in the fifth, he undid a 2-1 Braves’ lead by lifting a Red Barrett pitch over the left field wall to the right of the scoreboard for a two-run homer. Two innings later, Kiner provided an insurance tally by driving Barrett’s change-up against the clock on the scoreboard.**

With forty-nine home runs on the season, Kiner’s production now prompted comparisons with Babe Ruth’s twenty-year-old record of sixty homers. The Post-Gazette noted that Kiner “needs 11 homers in his remaining 14 games” and that the second-year slugger “was still six games behind the Bambino’s record-setting pace.” Kiner’s 121 RBI moved him ten behind Paul Waner’s 1927 team record.

Bucco starter Rip Sewell was the immediate beneficiary of Kiner’s homers. The forty-year-old right hander went the distance in his first start since July 12, to earn his sixth victory, limiting the Braves to seven hits.***

Box score

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette game story

* Stan Musial and Nate Colbert subsequently broke that record with five-homer doubleheaders in 1954 and 1972, respectively.

** The Post-Gazette noted that Kiner’s second home run provoked a mass exodus from the park: “They had seen what they came to see—Kiner’s homers—and it wouldn’t have mattered even had the Pirates lost.”

*** Both starting pitchers apparently worked efficiently in recording complete games; the contest lasted a mere 1:37.

But five years in, with the club that he has assembled given the assets he had available to him in terms of players to trade, draft picks to make and money to spend, he should be fired.

I hope that this post eventually – maybe within a couple of weeks – makes me look like an idiot and a jerk. I hope that this post causes my name become a synonym for moronic bloggers and that I’m ostracized from Pittsburgh fandom the way Steve Bartman has been from Chicago. I hope that in spite of being persona non grata in Bucco Nation that I’m in attendance in Cooperstown on the induction weekend when Huntington is enshrined, if only to eat my words once again. That is what I hope. But I believe Neal Huntington has not done a good job and should be dismissed.

Why?

1. He didn’t get nearly enough in return for dismantling the team he inherited. It goes beyond – well beyond – the Jose Bautista deal. He didn’t get enough in return.
2. He doesn’t recognize hitting ability. The resulting lack of talent he got in the trades that dismantled the Pirates over a couple of seasons has been compounded by an inability to recognize hitting talent on the free agent market or in the amateur market. Out of all the hitters in the NL with 300 plate appearances in 2012, the Pirates employ four of the 20 worst in terms of OPS+. Rod Barajas, Clint Barmes, Jose Tabata and Alex Presley. The team needs/needed a substantial offensive upgrade at four positions out of the chute in 2012 after Neal Huntington had five years to assemble a team. That’s four out of eight positions that were not just subpar, but among the worst in the league. Positions that Huntington had five years to figure out and failed to do so.
3. He has spent frugally but not well in the free agent market.
4. He has spent with reckless abandon but not very successfully in the amateur draft. The Pirates minor league system has some good players, courtesy of picks that were awarded to the Pirates based on their lackluster win total at the Major League level. I’m reasonably sure that if given a week and a subscription to Baseball America’s online content, Rinku Singh’s parents could’ve picked Pedro Alvarez (or Eric Hosmer or Buster Posey), Jameson Taillon (or Manny Machado or Yasmani Grandal) and Gerrit Cole (or Trevor Bauer or Dylan Bundy) and the club would’ve been in roughly the same spot (although I’d trade Alvarez for Posey even up without hesitation). Credit Neal Huntington for knowing what to do when he had a top five pick in the draft. That should be the easiest part of the job and he did that part well. Too much of the rest of the drafts have been misses on overslot players. Credit Neal Huntington with emphasizing Latin America again. That effort has yielded some exciting young players who will hopefully continue to develop.
5. He has not assembled a good team. Not last year. Not this year. The offense is not good. I thought the pitching staff was pretty solid, but it has faltered. This is not a good team. The Pirates are twelve games over .500 against the five worst teams in baseball (the Astros, the Cubs, the Rockies, the Twins and the Indians) and are eight games under .500 against everyone else.
6. He shouldn’t get credit for merely breaking the losing streak. Breaking the losing streak – the certainty of which is now in jeopardy – is not enough. I don’t want to settle for mediocrity. I want to see Andrew McCutchen playing post-season baseball (for the Pirates). I don’t want him to play for a continuing series of also-rans that fell just short.
7. He hurt the 2012 team by not picking up the options on three players and bringing in three lesser players. All else the same – even with injuries – Neal Huntington could’ve upgraded this team a three positions simply by exercising options (and, yes, taking on more payroll) on three players – Ronny Cedeno, Ryan Doumit and Paul Maholm. Cedeno, whom no one really liked as a player, would be better than Barmes. Even with Cedeno missing time (all else the same) in 2012 and his spot being filled by Jordy Mercer while he was injured, it would be an upgrade at short offensively with a likely drop off in defense (as measured by the currently accepted metrics). A tandem of Doumit and Michael McKenry would be an upgrade at catcher (or even Doumit as the primary) with basically the same defense. Doumit is by no stretch a good defensive catcher. Neither is Rod Barajas. And Doumit’s bat would’ve been available to start at first base or a corner outfield spot to exploit matchups. Paul Maholm is better than Erik Bedard. Had he merely retained two of those three players, the team would’ve been better. Credit Neal Huntington for getting A.J. Burnett. But essentially every other move he made in the off-season didn’t work out well.

That is what I believe. Neal Huntington has not done a good job. He has had ample time and ample resources at his disposal. He should be fired for a lack of results. I don’t believe for a second that Neal Huntington will be fired.

Don Slaught (1958) Catcher for the Pirates from 1990 until 1995. Prior to joining Pittsburgh, Slaught played eight years in the majors, hitting a combined .269 with 50 homers and 256 RBI’s in 756 games. During the 1989 season for the Yankees, he hit .251 with 38 RBI’s in 117 games, his second highest games played total during his 16 year career. He was a solid catcher, slightly below average in throwing out runners and early on he had some error troubles, leading AL catchers in 1988 with 11 miscues. On December 4,1989, the Pirates acquired Slaught from the Yankees in exchange for pitchers Jeff Robinson and Willie Smith.

During the Pirates three years of NL East pennants, Slaught was the righty in the L/R platoon behind the plate with Mike Lavalliere. His batting average during his Pirates years was much better than they hoped for, as he compiled a .305 mark in his six seasons in Pittsburgh. He hit .300 his first year and never batted below .288 with the team. He reached .300 in four of his seasons and topped out at .345 in 1992. Don started 179 games during the 1990-92 run of pennants, getting into another 47 games behind the plate from off the bench. In 1993, when the Pirates got rid of Lavalliere, Slaught became the everyday catcher and hit .300 with ten homers and 55 RBI’s in 116 games. He missed most of 1995, with shoulder and hamstring injuries, then was allowed to leave via free agency after the season. Slaught played two more seasons in the majors before retiring. With the Pirates he hit .305 in 475 games, with 21 homers and 184 RBI’s. In the postseason, he went just 5-for-28 between the 1990-91 games, before breaking out in 1992, hitting .333 with six walks and five RBI’s.

Dave Roberts (1944) Pitcher for the 1979-80 Pirates. He had a 13 year career in the majors that saw him go 103-125 3.78 in 277 starts and 168 relief appearances. Before reaching the Pirates, he was already in the middle of his 11th season and had made the conversion to a relief role. Dave was part of an important trade in Pirates history, the one that brought Bill Madlock to Pittsburgh, from the Giants on June 28,1979. It was a six player deal with three players going each way. Not only did Madlock help with the World Series run, Roberts went 5-2 3.26 in 21 appearances. He appeared in one playoff game, allowing a walk to the only batter he faced in the NLCS. Dave began the 1980 season with the Pirates, though he was sold to the Mariners after just two appearances. He played in the majors until 1981, lasting with the Mets until May of that season, then pitching briefly in the minors for the Giants, before retiring. While it is true that Roberts didn’t pitch for the Pirates until 1979, he was actually a member of the organization twice before that. He was originally signed by the Phillies, who lost him on waivers to the Pirates in 1964. In 1966, he was taken by the Kansas City Athletics in the Rule V draft, then returned to Pittsburgh in 1967, right before Opening Day. The Pirates then lost him to the Padres in the 1968 Expansion draft, and that is where he made his major league debut during the 1969 season.

Jackie Hernandez (1940) Shortstop for the 1971-73 Pirates. He was a light-hitting, error-prone shortstop for nine seasons in the majors, but during the 1971 postseason, he started ten of the 11 playoff games, helping the Pirates to their fourth WS title. On December 2,1970, the Pirates acquired Hernandez from the Kansas City Royals in a six player deal, with three players going each way. Jackie was six seasons into his major league career at that point, only once seeing regular playing time, that coming with the expansion Royals team during their first season. He played 145 games in 1969, hitting .222 with 17 RBI’s and he led the entire AL in errors. In 1970, before the Pirates received him, he hit .231 in 83 games, with a .563 OPS. For the 1971 Pirates, Hernandez started 65 games at shortstop and occasionally played third base. He hit just .206 with 26 RBI’s in 88 games, then in the postseason, he hit .226(seven singles in 31 AB’s) with two RBI’s. As his batting average sank to .188 in 1972, his playing time also diminished, but he still committed 22 errors at shortstop in 68 games. Jackie made just 22 starts in 1973, batting .247 in 78 plate appearances. On January 31,1974, Hernandez was dealt to the Phillies in exchange for catcher Mike Ryan. He ended up being released by the Phillies and resigned by the Pirates in April, spending the entire 1974 season at AAA. Hernandez played the next two years in the Mexican League before retiring. For the Pirates, he hit .205 in 214 games, with 48 RBI’s and despite stealing 17 bases in 1969, he never stole a base with the Pirates. He was a career .208 hitter in 618 games.

Glenn Spencer (1905) Pitcher for the Pirates in 1928, then again from 1930 until 1932. He made his debut on Opening Day in 1928, coming into a 12-5 game in the sixth inning, giving up two unearned runs in 2.2 innings. The Pirates had injuries to two of their better pitchers, Lee Meadows and Carmen Hill so a spot was opened up for Spencer. Glenn pitched just four times prior to the return of Meadows in late June, all in relief, throwing a total of 5.2 innings. He finished that season pitching for Columbia in the South Atlantic League, then was moved to Wichita of the Western League to get more experience the next year. Spencer responded with a 24 win season, pitching 252 innings. In 1930, he was back with the Pirates, getting occasional starts but most pitching in relief, closing out 22 games. Glenn pitched 41 times, 30 in relief, going 8-9 5.40 in 156.2 innings. The ERA sounds extremely high, but it was a booming year for offense in baseball, as the Pirates team finished with a 5.24 ERA.

Spencer would pitch the fourth most innings on the team in both 1930 and 1931, throwing a total of 186.2 innings the second season. That year he made 18 starts and 20 relief appearances, going 11-12 3.42 for a team that finished four games under the .500 mark. His numbers slipped the next season, down to a 4.97 ERA in 137.2 innings and the Pirates moved him in the off-season. On December 12,1932, he was sent to the Giants as part of a five player, three team deal, that also involved the Phillies. In return, the Pirates got back Hall of Fame 3B/OF Freddie Lindstrom. Spencer ended up pitching just 17 games for the Giants in 1933, then he was traded to the Reds and sent to the minors. His major league career was over at that point, but he pitched another eight seasons of minor league ball before retiring. With the Pirates, he was 23-29 4.48 in 122 appearances, 42 as a starter.

Frank Moore (1876) Pitcher for the Pirates on June 14,1905. At 6″4 back in 1905, Moore was referred to as “the Giant”, yet had the usual nickname of Peggy. He pitched just one game for the Pirates, coming into the game with Pittsburgh down 5-0 in the sixth inning to Hall of Famer(and future Pirates at the time), Vic Willis. He was recruited out of Ohio by Pirates oft-injured catcher, Harry Smith. When Moore went in to make his one appearance, it marked another unusual occurrence, Homer Hillebrand went behind the plate to catch at the same time. Hillebrand was a lefty, making one of his three major league appearances at the position. Frank ended up pitching the last three innings of the game and looked good, allowing two hits, no runs, no walks and he struck out a batter. He ended up playing until 1912, the last year as a player/manager, before retiring as a player and managing two final seasons. Frank spent the last seven years of his baseball career, playing/managing for teams in Ohio, his home state.

Steve Brodie (1868) Center fielder for the 1897-98 Pirates. He was a center fielder with strong defense and some big seasons on offense for the powerhouse Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890′s. Baltimore won the NL pennant three years in a row(1894-96) and Brodie averaged 106 runs scored and 111 RBI’s during those seasons. On defense, he led all outfielder in fielding percentage once and had the second best percentage five times(twice finishing third as well). On November 11,1896, the Pirates acquired Brodie from the Orioles, along with third baseman Jim Donnelly, for Jake Stenzel, and three other players. In Stenzel, the Pirates were giving up the player with the highest average in team history. While his defense was as strong as ever in Pittsburgh(leading the NL in fielding in 1897), Brodie’s offense left something to be desired, at least compared to his career stats. In 142 games with the Pirates, he hit .283 with 74 RBI’s and 62 runs scored.

The Pirates released Brodie on June 11,1898 despite the fact he was playing good at the time. The reason was due to finances, cuts had to be made to team spending and Brodie, along with third string catcher Morgan Murphy, were both released outright. The Pirates went with a smaller roster and Steve was free to sign with any other team. He ended up signing back with Baltimore, where he hit .306 in 23 games in 1898, then batted .309 with 87 RBI’s in 1899, the last year of the Baltimore NL franchise. When Baltimore became a major league city again in 1901 in the AL, Steve reappeared in the majors, playing two more seasons. His 12 year big league career was over, but his minor league career lasted another eight seasons, before finally retiring in 1910. He was a .303 major league hitter in 1438 games, with 900 RBI’s, 289 stolen bases and 886 runs scored.

Jolly Roger Rewind: September 11, 1982

Bill Madlock led off the ninth inning with a walkoff home run off Ron Reed, giving the Pirates a 10-9 victory over the Phillies at Three Rivers Stadium.

Coming on the veteran reliever Reed’s only pitch of the night, a chest-high slider, Madlock’s blast over the left-center wall gave the Bucs the ultimate upper hand in a slugfest that evoked memories of the teams’ epic struggles of the previous decade. The intrastate rivals combined for thirty-three hits, and spent the evening swapping leads and rallies.

Before Philadelphia could record their sixth out of the game, starter Mike Krukow had abdicated the mound in favor of Ed Farmer, and the Pirates enjoyed a 6-0 advantage. The Phillies answered by turning to some familiar names to produce eight runs against Larry McWilliams, Enrique Romo and Rod Scurry over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Garry Maddox’s fourth-inning double drove in former Bucco Bill Robinson to put the Phillies on the scoreboard in the fourth, Mike Schmidt’s three-run blast off McWilliams cut the lead to 6-4 in the fifth, and Pete Rose’s two-run single off Scurry in the sixth gave the visitors the lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, however, Sister Sledge replaced McFadden & Whitehead on the jukebox, as the Pirates conjured the spirit of their own recent past. Dave Parker, in action for the first time since injuring his thumb on July 28, pinch-hit for Lee Lacy and drove Porfi Altamirano’s pitch off the glove of diving right fielder George Vukovich for a triple. One out later, Philadelphia manager Pat Corrales called on long-time Bucco foe Tug McGraw. McGraw retired Jason Thompson on a pop-up, but Mike Easler singled home Parker to cut the gap to 8-7.

Tony Pena followed with an infield single. With two on and two out, Chuck Tanner went to his bench and sent up Willie Stargell, playing out the final three weeks of his storied career, to pinch-hit for Johnny Ray. Much as Tanner had turned to left-handed pinch-hitters Easler and John Milner to get big hits against the lefty McGraw in the summer of ’79, the strategy paid off handsomely, as Stargell sliced a double to left to drive in two runs and put the Bucs back ahead.*

Philadelphia did not quit. Manny Sarmiento had kept the Phillies off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings, and Tanner sent him back out for the ninth. Three batters in, the Phillies had two runners on and one out, and Tanner summoned Kent Tekulve in hopes of recording the final two outs. Tekulve induced Maddox to ground into a forceout, but Manny Trillo singled off Dale Berra’s glove to deadlock the game.

Once Madlock untied matters for good a few minutes later, the contest had something else in common with its 1970s antecedents: pennant race impact. The combination of Philadelphia’s loss and St. Louis’ win over New York knocked the Phillies out of first place in the National League East and put the Cardinals in the top spot by half a game. The Pirates continued to hang within striking distance; they now stood in fourth place, but only four and a half games out of first.

Box score and play-by-play

The Pittsburgh Press game story

* This pinch-hit double represented Stargell’s last big hit in a twenty-one-year career of countless memorable moments.

The word collapse suggests that the team has collapsed, or that they’re in the process of collapsing, which suggests that a collapse is inevitable. The truth is that the team hasn’t collapsed. They might be in the process of collapsing, but there’s still enough time for them to get back on track and win. In all of the losing, they’re still within reach of the playoffs. Despite the recent losing, there has also been losing from St. Louis and Los Angeles. No one is running away with the second wild card spot. Yet we don’t hear about the Cardinals or Dodgers collapsing.

There’s probably not a lot of optimism that the Pirates can turn things around, and that’s certainly understandable after being swept by the Cubs and losing against the Reds tonight. The fact is that this is a team that quickly goes from hot-to-cold, and cold-to-hot. It’s not out of the question for them to go on a hot streak out of nowhere.

That brings up another issue, and my bigger problem with the term “collapse”. I’ve been thinking about something the last few days: Is “collapse” the correct term? Collapse looks at the team as a contender that shouldn’t have fallen like the Pirates have since the beginning of August. Are the Pirates that contender, disappointingly falling in the final months of the season? Or are they a pretender that only got this high because of two unlikely months in the middle of the season?

The term “collapse” suggests that the Pirates were contenders, and that their recent stretch is out of the ordinary. But let’s look at the breakdown of the won/loss records this season.

April/May: 25-25

June/July: 34-19

August/September: 13-24

The first two months of the season the team was at .500. Then they took off in June and July and everyone thought they were contenders. It’s hard to think otherwise when the team enters August with a 59-44 record, 15 games above .500, and three games back from the division lead. They followed that up with a 13-24 stretch since the start of August.

Right now we’re still stuck on August 1st. That’s how we are viewing the team. This isn’t a team that is 72-68 on the season. This is a team that was 59-44 and is collapsing. That might not be the correct way to look at things.

Looking at this from a larger perspective, this team looks closer to a .500 team. They played .500 ball the first two months of the season. They had two huge months in June and July. Now they’re in the process of two horrible months to end the year. That split is due to the fact that this team is very streaky. As I mentioned above, they quickly go from hot-to-cold, and cold-to-hot. That’s not what contenders do. Contenders have cold streaks, but they usually bounce out of them quickly, and usually stay consistent all year.

Nothing about this year has been consistent for the Pirates. They’ve gone from a .500 team that was lucky to be at .500, to one of the best teams in baseball over a two month stretch, to one of the worst teams in baseball since the start of August. It’s hard to be a contender when you’re prone to those wild swings in performance, especially when the swings for the worse can last for over a month.

Collapse might not be the best term to describe what the Pirates are currently doing. Collapse suggests they’re contenders who are falling from a place they should be. Looking at the season from where we are now, the correct term might be “Regressing”. That suggests that the Pirates are falling to a place they should be. They’re not as bad as they’ve been playing lately, but the fact that they’ve been playing this bad tells us they weren’t as good as June/July. They’re probably in the middle of that, which puts them close to a .500 team.

That’s probably the best way to describe this team. They’re a .500 team. The difference between a .500 team and a contender isn’t huge. If the Pirates are a .500 team, it’s good progress from where they were last year. It’s probably disappointing to think that way, considering we spent most of the summer thinking of them as contenders. Even if it’s disappointing, the team is moving in the right direction, which should be encouraging. What should be disappointing is that they don’t appear to be there just yet. They don’t look like a contender right now. They don’t look like they’re collapsing. They look like they’re regressing to a .500 club.

Links and Notes

**Win a Free Pair of Pittsburgh Pirates Headphones From BiGR AUDIO.

**The Pirates lost to the Reds 4-3.

**Pirates Notebook: Missed Opportunities Hurt Bucs in Extras.

**Pirates Recall Chase d’Arnaud, Bryan Morris; DFA Evan Meek.

**Prospect Notebook: Josh Bell Might Not Play Until Spring Training.

**Pirates Need to Put a Foot Down on Current Struggles.

**State College Spikes 2012 Season Recap: Top Prospects.

**State College Spikes 2012 Season Recap: Hitters.

**State College Spikes 2012 Season Recap: Pitchers.

Chad Hermansen (1977) Outfielder for the 1999-2002 Pirates. He was a first round pick of the 1995 Pirates and five times he was ranked by Baseball America among their top 54 prospects. Coming up through the minors he was always young for the level, but he struck out a lot and never hit for a high average. Hermansen ended up playing five seasons at AAA Nashville, never living up to the hype that surrounded him. To be fair, the Pirates gave him three separate trials from 1999-2001, when he was ages 21-23, yet never gave him more than 33 games in a season. In 2002, he finally got an extended look, playing 65 games through the end of July, before he was dealt to the Cubs for Darren Lewis. Chad finished the season with the Cubs, then played for the Dodgers in 2003, before playing his last major league season with the 2004 Blue Jays. He played in the minors until 2007, finishing with 192 minor league homers. For the Pirates, he hit .199 in 139 games, with 12 homers and 29 RBI’s.

Bob Garber (1928) Pitcher for the 1956 Pirates. He signed with the Pirates as an amateur in 1948, pitching well in the low levels of the minors for three years before serving in the military during the Korean War. Garber went 49-27 over his first three seasons, then missed all of 1951-52. He didn’t do much in 1953, then returned to form the next year, winning 19 games for Denver of the Western League. He was moved up to Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League in 1955 and won 20 games, posting a 2.84 ERA in 291.2 innings, but  didn’t pitch with the Pirates until the following season. Garber appeared in two game for the 1956 Pirates, both in relief and both games ended up being suspended and finished at a later date. The first was in May, when he threw one scoreless inning during a blowout loss to the Phillies. The other game came in September, when he pitched three innings against the Dodgers, allowing one run on a solo homer. Bob pitched at Hollywood in 1957, then split his final season(1958) between stops in the Reds and Cubs organization, never making the majors again.

Brandy Davis (1956) Outfielder for the 1952-53 Pirates. The Pirates signed him out of Duke University in 1951, and it didn’t take long for Davis to make the majors. After spending all of 1951 in the minors, splitting his time between three different teams while batting .313 with 16 homers, Davis made the Pirates 1952 Opening Day roster. He would be sent to the minors in early June, returning two months later for the rest of the season. Brandy(real name was Robert Brandon Davis) started 21 of the 55 games he played that season for the Pirates, seeing time at all three outfield spots. He hit .179 with 14 runs scored and one RBI in 108 plate appearances. Davis spent 1953 with New Orleans of the Southern Association, where he hit .272 with four homers in 136 games. He came back to the Pirates as a September call-up and hit .205 in 12 games, his last major league experience. Brandy played in the Pirates farm system until 1956 and remained in the minors until 1960, finishing with a .292 average in 911 games.

Ted Kluszewski (1924) First baseman for the 1958-59 Pirates. He started his major league career in 1947 with the Reds and 11 years later, he had amassed a .302 average with 251 homers and 886 RBI’s. Ted was a four time All-Star from 1953-56, hitting at least 35 homers and driving in over 100 runs each season. Three times he hit at least 40 homers, including 1954 when he led the NL in homer(49) and RBI’s(149) while hitting .326, the fifth highest average in the league. Before coming to Pittsburgh, he began to suffer back problems that really limited his power. The Pirates acquired Ted from the Reds on December 28,1957 in exchange for first baseman Dee Fondy. Pittsburgh didn’t get the power hitting first baseman they hoped to get. Kluszewski played 160 games for the Pirates, hitting .284 with just six homers and 54 RBI’s. He was able to hit .292 during the 1958 season, but his .408 slugging percentage was well below his career mark. The Pirates traded him to the White Sox on August 25,1959 in exchange for outfielder Harry Simpson and a minor leaguer. Ted played with the White Sox until 1960, then finished with the 1961 Angels, an expansion team that year. He hit 15 homers in 1961, more than he had hit the previous three seasons combined. The amazing part of his 1953-56 streak of 35 home run seasons, was the fact he had more home runs than strikeouts in all four seasons.

George Kelly (1895) First baseman for the 1917 Pirates. He saw limited time with the New York Giants for parts of three years before the Pirates purchased his contract in early August of 1917. Pittsburgh was having injury problems at the time and they needed Kelly to fill in for Honus Wagner at first base. Before joining the Pirates, he had barely played for the 1917 Giants, going 0-for-5 in nine games. For Pittsburgh in eight starts at first base, he went 2-for-23 with a triple and nine strikeouts. When Wagner was ready to play again, Kelly was sent back to the Giants. Despite returning him to New York right away, the Pirates had been high on Kelly for quite some time. The decision to return him ended up being a bad one, Kelly went on to have a Hall of Fame career. From 1920 until 1925, he averaged 108 RBI’s per season, twice leading the league. From 1921 until 1926, he batted over .300 every season.

George helped the Giants to four straight World Series appearances, picking up titles during the 1921-22 seasons. He was a career .297 hitter in 1622 games, driving in 1020 runs, while scoring 819 times. Kelly was also a fine fielding first baseman, leading the league in assists three times, putouts three times, range four times and fielding percentage twice. Late in that 1917 season, after being returned to the Giants, Kelly pitched for the only time in his career, throwing five shutout innings in a win over the Phillies. Kelly came from a big baseball family, his uncle was Bill Lange, a .330 career hitter in seven seasons during the 1890′s. George’s brother Ren Kelly pitched for the 1923 Athletics and his cousin Rich Chiles, played six years in the majors during the 1970′s.

Kid Durbin (1886) Pinch-runner for the Pirates on June 30,1909. When the Pirates traded for Durbin on May 28,1909, they sent pitcher Ward Miller to the Reds in a deal that included the stipulation, that if Miller played good for the Reds, Cincinnati would send money back to the Pirates. As it turned out, all Pittsburgh received from the player part of the deal, was one pinch-running appearance by Durbin. On June 30,1909, during the opening game at Forbes Field, the Pirates trailed 3-2 in the ninth inning. Catcher George Gibson walked to start the inning, he was replaced on the bases by Durbin, who was sacrificed to 2B, then moved to 3B on an infield error. That is where he would stay, as a shallow fly ball and groundout to shortstop ended the game. Not only did Durbin not play for the Pirates again, he never played in the majors again.

He came to the majors in 1907 after winning 32 games the previous year for Joplin of the Western Association. Kid also hit .277 that season, occasionally playing outfield when he wasn’t on the mound. He played two years with the Cubs, seeing very limited playing time(25 games combined, five as a pitcher). In January of 1909 he was traded to the Reds, who used him six times as a pinch-hitter before the trade to the Pirates. Durbin played in the minors until 1912 before he retired. The Cubs won the World Series in each of his first two seasons and the Pirates won during his third year, though Durbin never played a postseason game.

Jolly Roger Rewind: September 10, 1958

Rookie Dick Stuart’s two-run, tenth-inning, walkoff home run gave the Pirates a milestone-laden 6-4 victory over the Giants at Forbes Field.

With the score tied 4-4 in the bottom of the tenth, Giants’ reliever Marv Grissom took over for fellow reliever Ramon Monzant, who had held the Bucs scoreless over a seven-and-a-third-inning effort. Grissom appeared headed down the same path as his predecessor when he started the inning by retiring Bob Friend and Bill Virdon. But Roberto Clemente grounded a single up the middle for his third hit of the game, bringing up Stuart.

The Bucco first baseman took Grissom’s first pitch for a strike, and protested the call to home plate umpire Frank Secory. Pitch number two, however, proved more to Stuart’s liking: he crushed it over the wall and above the trees in left center to end the game. Seeing the ball clear the fence as he rounded first base, Stuart, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “leaped in the air, clapping his approval.” He concluded the home-run trot by leaping onto home plate with both feet.

Stuart’s blast allowed the Bucs to reach two noteworthy milestones. In raising their record to 78-64, the Pirates clinched their first winning season since 1948. The nine consecutive losing seasons represented a franchise record.*

The win also gave Friend, who labored through all ten innings on a cool evening, his twentieth victory of the season. Friend’s 20-13 mark—three wins greater than his previous season-best—made him the first Bucco pitcher to win twenty games in a season since Murry Dickson went 20-16 in 1951.**

Despite having won four games in a row and six of their last seven, the second-place Pirates still trailed first-place Milwaukee by six games with fourteen to play. Nevertheless, the Bucs, now leading third-place San Francisco by six games, stood in good shape to finish as high as second in the National League for the first time since 1944.

Box score and play-by-play

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette game story

* The dubious mark would stand until 2002, when the Pirates recorded their tenth losing season in a row.

** Friend would finish the season with a 22-14 mark, which wound up being the most wins in his sixteen-season career.

To lead off the inning, Jeff Locke stepped to the plate. He laced a single down the third base line, giving the Pirates a gift runner at first base with the top of the order coming up.

The response? Brock Holt came up attempting a bunt. Holt got in to a two strike count, then hit a slow chopper to first base, beating out the throw after the Cubs’ first baseman looked to second for the force out. Another gift runner. The Pirates now had runners at first and second with no outs.

The response? Starling Marte came up attempting a bunt. Just like Brock Holt, Marte got in to a two strike count. Marte then proceeded to strike out.

First of all, each situation was predictable, to the point where the Cubs were playing for the bunt. That led to the need to lay down the perfect bunt, which led to some foul bunts down the line and the eventual two strike counts.

Second, you were gifted two base runners. Why start giving away outs? Brock Holt has been hitting well since his call up? Why take the bat out of his hand? Starling Marte hasn’t been as hot lately, but you’re better off letting him hit away, especially with Andrew McCutchen on deck. If Marte successfully lays the bunt down, you’ve got runners at second and third with one out. That takes the bat out of the hands of your best hitter, as the Cubs would just walk him (which they did in the seventh after Brock Holt’s triple). Then you’ve got Garrett Jones against a left-hander, with a pretty good chance that they feed him a steady diet of breaking stuff, hoping he rolls over one for a double play.

The bigger picture is that the Pirates shouldn’t be playing small ball. The idea behind small ball is that you can manufacture runs from a weak offense. But a small ball strategy only works if you also have an excellent pitching staff. The pitching staff lately has been far from excellent. Then there’s the bigger issue: the Pirates are horrible at small ball. They can’t steal bases, and they can’t lay down a bunt on a consistent basis. A lot of that probably has to do with their strategy being so predictable.

It’s almost as if the Pirates don’t need a manager. Their strategy in all aspects is predictable. Runner at first and less than two outs? Bunt. Game entering the 8th inning? Bring on the 8th inning guy. Game entering the 9th inning? Bring on Joel Hanrahan. Unless it’s a tie game on the road. Then wait until there’s a lead, if there ever is a lead. Need a pinch hitter on deck with two outs in the event that Jeff Clement reaches? Call on Jordy Mercer. Have a situation where Clement actually reaches and Mercer would get an at-bat? Send up Josh Harrison instead.

The Marte bunt might not have mattered in the long run, as Jason Grilli came on and gave up two runs in the eighth. But the Pirates had a situation where they were given runners at first and second with no outs. They might not be guaranteed of a big inning. But playing small ball guarantees their upside will only be a small inning. So even if they execute, the Grilli inning is going to hurt them, because they’re settling for two runs, rather than playing big with their best hitters due up. That’s a strategy the Pirates can’t afford to go with. They need to play for as many runs as possible. They can’t afford to give away outs, especially with their top hitters due up. They can’t afford to potentially take the bat out of Andrew McCutchen’s hands.

I’m not a big believer that a manager can significantly help a team. But I do think a manager can hurt a team with poor decisions. Small ball isn’t working for the Pirates. And with the small ball strategy being so predictable, there’s little chance that it could ever work, even if the Pirates executed it perfectly. Clint Hurdle is only hurting the Pirates by continuing with this predictable small ball strategy.

Links and Notes

**The Pirates lost to the Cubs 4-2.

**Pirates Notebook: Evolution of Jeff Locke; Reinforcements on the Horizon.

**State College Spikes 2012 Season Recap: Top Prospects.

**State College Spikes 2012 Season Recap: Hitters.

**State College Spikes 2012 Season Recap: Pitchers.

**Chad Qualls Activated From the Disabled List.

Waite Hoyt (1899) Hall of Fame pitcher for the Pirates from 1933 until 1937. Hoyt made the Hall of Fame on the strength of the team he played for, that being the Yankees from 1921-30, when he had a 157-98 record. Over the rest of his career, posting a ERA just slightly higher than his New York days, he had a career record of 80-84, including the 35-31 mark he compiled with the Pirates. His ERA during his five years in Pittsburgh stood at 3.08, forty points below his number with the Yankees. Hoyt was released by the Giants after the 1932 season, when he went 5-7 3.42 in 12 starts and six relief outings. He was signed by the Pirates the following January and was used mostly in relief during his first season in Pittsburgh. He went 5-7 2.92 in 117 innings, making eight starts and 28 relief appearances.

In 1934, he was used in the same role, just pitching more often. That would be his best season since he went 22-7 2.63 for the powerhouse 1927 Yankees. Hoyt was 15-6 2.93 in 190.2 innings, making 17 starts and 23 relief appearances. In 1934, he had a 7-11 3.40 record in 11 starts and 28 relief outings, throwing a total of 164 innings. He began to slow down the next year but still pitched well with a 2.70 ERA in 116.2 innings. His ERA that season was the lowest among any Pirates pitchers, a staff that included some strong pitchers like Cy Blanton, Mace Brown, Bill Swift and Red Lucas. Waite started off slow in 1937, then was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers in June. He pitched well there over the rest of the 1937 season, but after a few games the next season, he was released, ending his career. Hoyt finished with a 237-182 3.59 record in 674 games, 425 as a starter. He won three World Series titles and had six wins and a 1.83 ERA in the postseason.

Before we get into the other players, we have a manager to mention. Frankie Frisch (1898) was a Hall of Fame second baseman, who managed the Pirates from 1940 until 1946, finishing with a 539-528 record. Frisch played 19 seasons in the majors, hitting .316 with 2880 hits, 1532 runs scored, 419 stolen bases and 1244 RBI’s. He was a part of four World Series winning teams as a player and one of those as a player/manager. He went 1138-1078 overall in sixteen years managing in the big leagues. Frankie had a winning record in five of his seven seasons in Pittsburgh, finishing second once and in fourth place, four times. He led the 1944 Pirates to a 90-63 record, his best year with the team.

Dan Miceli (1970) Reliever for the Pirates from 1993 until 1996. He was originally signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent in 1990, coming over to the Pirates at the 1993 trading deadline, along with Jon Lieber, in exchange for Stan Belinda. Dan came to the majors in September and stuck around for another three seasons, despite never pitching with any success. In 1995, he was used often in the closer role, picking up 21 saves, but he also had a 4.66 ERA. The next year the Pirates tried him as a starter briefly and he wound up with a 2-10 5.78 record in nine starts and 35 relief outings. After the season ended, he was dealt to the Tigers for pitcher Clint Sodowsky. Miceli went on to pitcher 14 seasons in the majors, with some solid seasons mixed in, tops among them was 1998 for the Padres when he went 10-5 3.22 in 67 games. In 2003, he pitched for four different teams in four different divisions. Dan finished with a 43-52 4.48 record in 631 games, with 39 saves. For the Pirates, he was 8-15 5.41 in 139 games, more games than any other team he played with, a list nine teams long.

Tom Foley (1959) Infielder for the 1993-94 Pirates. He spent his entire 13 year career in the NL, eight of those seasons with the Montreal Expos. His two years in Pittsburgh were bookended by his first and second stop in Montreal. Tom split most of his time at either shortstop or second base, but he also saw plenty of work between the two corner infield spots. In 1992 for the Expos, he hit just .174 in 72 games, leading to his release as soon as the season ended. The Pirates signed Foley two months later, and he was used mainly at second base in 1993, getting exactly four starts at each of the other three infield spots. In 86 games that season, he hit .253 with 22 RBI’s and 18 runs scored in 211 plate appearances. In 1994, he again played all four infield spots, although he didn’t make any starts at first base. He hit .236 in 59 games during that strike-shortened season, driving in 15 runs and scoring 13 times. He was released in October and finished his career the next season with the Expos. In 1108 major league games, he hit .244 with 32 homers, 32 steals and 263 RBI’s. Foley was originally drafted by the Reds in 1977, spending parts of three seasons in the majors with them, followed by parts of two seasons with the Phillies, before being dealt in July of 1986 to the Expos.

Pete Naton (1931) Catcher for the 1953 Pirates. He was signed by the Pirates right out of the College of Holy Cross in June of 1953, one of 75 major leaguers that attended that school, although only six have began their major league career after he did. Naton went right to the Pirates and played two games(one as a starter) before being sent to the minors. He was recalled in September for four more games, three of them as a starter. He hit .167 with one RBI and two walks. Naton then went to the low minors in 1954, where he hit .288 with 16 homers. He split the next two seasons between the Pirates affiliates in Hollywood(PCL) and New Orleans(Southern Association), where he never approached his 1954 hitting numbers. Pete stayed in the Pirates system until 1958 before retiring, never making it back to the majors.

Dan Costello (1891) Outfielder for the Pirates from 1914 until 1916. He signed with the Yankees right out of Mount St Mary’s University in 1913, a school that hasn’t produced a major league player in eighty years. Costello spent three of his four seasons in the majors with the Pirates. Pittsburgh picked him up off waivers in January of 1914, after he played just two games for New York. Dan was called up late during the 1914 season by the Pirates, after spending the season playing for a minor league team from Poughkeepsie,NY. He played 21 games, twenty of those in right field, and he hit .297 with five RBI’s. In 1915, he was the backup outfielder, seeing time at all three positions, though most of his time came off the bench. Dan hit .216 with 11 RBI’s, 16 runs scored and seven stolen bases in 71 games. During Spring Training in 1916, he was impressing the Pirates with his play and they planned to reward his hard work with more playing time. Costello got more AB’s in 1916, but played less games. He started often in left field early in the year, but he ended up hitting just .239 with eight RBI’s in 60 games. The Pirates released him to Toronto of the International League in September and, while he initially said he would retire rather than report there, he ended up playing in Toronto during the 1917 season before calling it quits.

Doc Johnston (1887) First baseman for the 1915-16 Pirates. The Pirates purchased Johnston from the Indians in February of 1915, after he hit .244 with no homers and 23 RBI’s in 104 games the previous season. It was his second full year in the majors, he had also played briefly for the 1909 Reds and the 1912 Indians(then called Naps). Johnston replaced Ed Konetchy at first base, after he jumped to the Pittsburgh team in the Federal League. Doc(first name was Wheeler) hit .265 in 147 games for the 1915 Pirates, driving in 64 runs and scoring 71 times. He finished ninth in the NL in stolen bases and homers and sixth in triples. His second season with the team didn’t go so well, hitting .213 with 39 RBI’s in 114 games. In 1917, the Pirates went with Honus Wagner at first base and Doc spent the entire year in the minors. By early 1918, he was back with the Indians. Johnston had three good seasons with Cleveland, hitting at least .292 each year from 1919-21. He was sold to the Philadelphia A’s after the 1921 season and finished his major league career there after one season. Doc went on to play four more seasons in the minors, then managed for two more years before retiring.

Abner Dalrymple (1857) Left fielder for the 1887-88 Pittsburgh Alleghenys and the first batter in Pittsburgh NL history. He was a star outfielder in the 1880′s for the Chicago White Stockings(Cubs), but by the time the Alleghenys got him in 1887, he was clearly on the downside of his career. Abner led the NL in AB’s four times between 1880-85, led the league in runs and hits in 1880, home runs in 1885 and four times he batted over .300, including a high of .354 in 1878 as a rookie. He was awarded the NL batting title that rookie season, but later researched showed he actually fell four points behind Paul Hines(see link for details). Pittsburgh purchased him in November of 1886 after he hit .233 in 82 games for Chicago. The Alleghenys had moved from the American Association to the NL over the off-season and on April 30,1887, Abner led off against his old team and helped Pittsburgh to a 6-2 win. He never regained his batting form from years earlier, finishing that first season hitting .212 in 92 games, with 45 runs scored and 29 stolen bases.

Dalrymple was never strong defensively, early in his career he led the NL in errors three times, but by the time he reached Pittsburgh, he was an average fielder. In 1888, he played 57 games for the Alleghenys, hitting .220 with 19 runs scored. Abner went to the minors in 1889 and played for another seven seasons before retiring. He actually played major league ball again in 1891 under odd circumstances by today’s standards. That year the American Association had a team from Cincinnati that folded near the end of the season and the AA needed a team to take their spot, to finish out the schedule. They chose the Milwaukee Brewers of the Western League, and Dalrymple just happened to be on that team, hitting .340 at the time. When the team moved to the AA for the last month, Abner went with them and hit .311 with 22 RBI’s in 32 games.

Jolly Roger Rewind: September 9, 1987

Relief pitcher Jeff Robinson stunned the Cubs with a tie-breaking two-out, ninth-inning home run against ace reliever Lee Smith, lifting the Pirates to a 4-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Robinson, acquired in a trade for Rick Reuschel in the previous month, had entered the game in the bottom of the seventh in relief of starter Mike Bielecki with the bases loaded, none out, and the Bucs clinging to a 3-2 advantage.* While allowing the Cubs to tie the game on a Ryne Sandberg RBI groundout, he retired Leon Durham and Andre Dawson to limit the damage, and then held Chicago scoreless in the eighth.

In the top of the ninth, Smith, pitching his second inning of relief, quickly retired Sid Bream and Al Pedrique on groundouts. Bucco manager Jim Leyland then allowed Robinson to bat for himself because, as his told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette afterwards, he “didn’t want to use [closer Jim] Gott in a tie game [and] . . . thought Robinson was [his] best bet to get three outs in the bottom of the ninth and get us to extra innings.”

At that point, extra innings looked like a best-case scenario for the Pirates: relevant metrics included Robinson’s lifetime .106 average in 94 career at-bats, and Smith’s allowing only three home runs in 78 innings all season. Plus, as Pirates coach Rich Donnelly noted, Robinson was “hitting only .125 with no home runs and four RBIs in the pitcher’s game during batting practice. Heck, he’s been pinch-hit for twice in THOSE games.”

But Robinson somehow crushed Smith’s first pitch, a fastball, against the screen behind the left-field bleachers for his first major-league home run, giving the Pirates a one-run lead. “It was pretty much of a fluke,” Robinson acknowledged afterwards. “He could go to the plate another 500 times against Lee Smith and not do it again,” Andy Van Slyke observed. “I was a genius, wasn’t I?” postulated a grinning Leyland.**

Leyland then turned to his bullpen, calling on Gott to record the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth. With the sweep of the three-game series, the Pirates had twelve wins in fifteen games since general manager Syd Thrift’s August 24 closed-door team meeting.

Box score and play-by-play

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette game story

* Two days earlier, Robinson had entered the Pirates-Cubs game in the eighth inning with a 3-2 lead and struck out the side on nine pitches.

** This game received prominent coverage in the 1987 Pirates’ season highlight film; Greg Brown’s dramatic narration referred to Robinson’s blast as a “home run from an unlikely source.”