Bryan Morris made his home debut Sunday and got lit up; more on that sometime tomorrow. Jared Hughes shut down New Britain for another Curve win last night; I doubt I'll ever get to doing a recap of that one. Sorry.
But the important news from yesterday is that the Pirates traded Curve reliever Ronald Uviedo to the Blue Jays for 26 year old starting pitcher Dana Eveland. Eveland has already bounced through several organizations; once upon a time he was a good prospect, but that was years ago, and now he is what he is: a replacement-level starter that won't help the Pirates now and won't help them later. I don't understand this trade at all. Uviedo was striking out over a batter an inning in Altoona, and PNC Park would have been gentle to his flyball tendencies. He's unlikely to be a star, sure, but those are the kinds of guys you keep around, because they can turn into useful middle relievers. Which every team needs. Ask the Cubs. Or the Royals. Or about 25 other teams.
'Tis a sad farewell to Uviedo, who was pitching very well for the Curve; between his departure and Danny Moskos' imminent call up to Indianapolis (and possibly Mike Dubee's, too), the Curve bullpen, and with it their pennant hopes, just took a massive decline. By the time the Curve return home next week, it's likely Tony Watson will be the team's ace reliever, and we'll be seeing a lot of Corey Hamman and Dustin Molleken in close games, which likely means an uncomfortable number of close losses.
Of course this this the way it is for minor league teams. The Pirates have to look out for their own interests, and the Curve's roster is subservient to that. It's still hard to see such a crucial part of the pitching staff depart the team. But we still have an excellent team, and more pitching will come from West Virginia and Bradenton. The Uviedo trade is, though, great news for the rest of the Eastern League (and especially great news for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Uviedo's new team.)
From the Pirates' perspective, losing Ronald Uviedo isn't cause for ripping of garments and gnashing of teeth, but it's worrisome because it would seem to highlight a certain inconsistency of plan in the Pirates' front office.
To wit, the only reason to acquire Dana Eveland is to improve your major league rotation (which, sadly, Eveland probably does; the Pirates' ace pitcher remains in Indianapolis until they can be sure he won't be a Super Two.) But the plan, as I understood it, was to accept losing now in the name of winning later. Here they've traded a guy that might help them win later for a guy that, if they're lucky, might help them win two or three games more in 2010 than they otherwise would have. They traded Uviedo for a chance at an upgrade from 65 wins to 68. Frankly, that's doubly dumb because you should want to lose 65 games rather than 68; that can be the difference between Tony Sanchez and Stephen Strasburg.
What's the plan here? Because it looks very much like either the front office or the owner felt desperately pressured to try to improve the 2010 team.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Weather Update
It's three hours to game time as I type this, and the forecast looks nasty: Flash flood watch with 'strong thunderstorms' predicted to roll across the area. It's going to rain off and on, heavily at times, all night, and I will almost certainly get to sit through my first rain delay of the season tonight. I'm confident nine innings will get played, but there is pretty much no hope of fireworks happening. On the plus side, those of us that are there to watch baseball (as opposed to fireworks) will have a pleasantly easy time exiting the park when the game finally ends around 11:00 or 11:30, the 200 of us that remain.
But, I mean, come on. If you've lived in Altoona for a while and didn't expect it to rain on Memorial Day, you are a fool. It's tradition here.
But, I mean, come on. If you've lived in Altoona for a while and didn't expect it to rain on Memorial Day, you are a fool. It's tradition here.
DANGER: Hector Gimenez Imminent!
Strong pitching and power hitting won the day again last night, as the boys took down the Reading Phillies yet again, 5 to 2. Reading scored both their runs in the top of the 1st; Altoona scored all five of their runs in the bottom of the 6th. Six of the seven runs were scored via home runs.
Remember how Miles Durham robbed Dominic Brown of a sure home run Friday night? Brown was not about to let that happen again. He annihilated the first pitch he saw from Curve starter Rudy Owens, blasting a screaming liner a good 370-380 feet over the right field wall. Dwight Howard standing on Yao Ming's shoulders was not about to take that one away from him.
The bad news for Reading: Brown was the third batter of the game, and that would be all their scoring for the night.
An important measure of a pitcher's worth is how hard and how well he battles when he doesn't have his good stuff. Rudy Owens didn't have his good stuff last night, but after escaping a tough first inning--two singles, a walk, and Brown's bomb--Owens shut down the Phillies for the following five. Reading starter Drew Naylor matched him frame for frame though, and Owens left the game after six innings still trailing 2 to 0.
Then, in the bottom of the 6th, Chase d'Arnaud doubled. Matt Hague singled him in. 2 to 1. Then Naylor broke down and walked Jordy Mercer on four bad pitches. Naylor was replaced, as part of a three-position double switch, by reliever B.J. Rosenberg.
Hector Gimenez and Alex Presley took Rosenberg to school.
Gimenez took a ball. A foul. Ball two. Another foul. Another foul. Another foul.
Another foul.
BOOM!
Rosenberg finally put the ball where Gimenez was looking for it, and Gimenez jacked it out toward the roller coaster, a no doubt about it three run bomb that put the Curve in the lead, 4 to 2.
Presley took strike one, and then took two balls. Then a foul. Another foul. Ball three. Another foul.
BOOM!
Presley hit a searing line shot that cleared the right field wall by six inches, long before right fielder Dominic Brown could dream of getting there.
Rosenberg recovered after that, struck out the next three hitters, but the damage was done. And apparently Matt Walbeck has learned his lesson about putting Corey Hamman or Dustin Molleken into a close game; Tony Watson, with the aid of a helpfully hacktastic Reading lineup that made him throw only 30 pitches, pitched the last three innings to record the save.
YOU GUESSED IT - TIDBITS!
Very first batter of the game, Reading center/left fielder Mike Spidale hit a ball deep into the hole, leaving no prayer of getting him in time. Chase d'Arnaud fielded the ball--Spidale was about four steps from first base by this point--turned, and kind of nonchalantly launched the ball into the third row. Matt Hague just stared at it in disgust as it sailed 15, 20 feet over his head. d'Arnaud has been improving rapidly the past few weeks, but there's just no telling what he was thinking on that play. You have to get your head in the game, or you'll just be destined to wear a Royals uniform.
Jordy Mercer had a rough start to his night. He grounded into a double play on a 2-0 count--which is a cardinal sin unto death, just unacceptable--in the 2nd inning. Then in the 4th, Mercer lined into a double play, a freak accident, where he lined the ball right at Reading first baseman Brian Stavisky, leaving Jim Negrych hopeless and dead to rights. Stavisky stood flatfooted where he caught the ball and tagged Negrych out. Mercer bounced back from that to finish his night with a walk and a single.
The only Curve extra-base hit until the 6th inning was provided by Rudy Owens, who was credited with a double when Reading left fielder Kevin Mahar comically misplayed a semi-deep, lazy liner, cutting too sharp an angle on it and then watching it fly over his head. Ah, the fond memories of Jeremy Giambi that evoked.
I never noticed this before last night, for whatever reason, but Curve catcher/powerhouse Hector Giminez does not wear batting gloves. (At least, not when it's warm.) We can only pray he didn't attend the Moises Alou School of Skin Care. (Just Google it if you don't know, but trust me, you're better off not knowing.)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Curve Dispose of Phillies Again
Last night produced more or less the same result as Friday night, only with 100% more bullpen runs allowed: a 7 to 3 victory over the--say it together now--R-Phils!
(Here I'm tempted to rail against the sophomoric first initial-first syllable of last word nickname construction so prevalent in our declining culture, but I'll save it for a rainy day. OK, a particularly rainy day.)
Tim Alderson's renaissance continues. It's not so much that he's pitching much better than he has been; he went 6 innings, struck out 5, walked 3, which is actually a weaker K/BB ratio than he usually puts up. But finally, the balls in play are finding their way into Curve gloves, and he left having allowed only one run and staked to a comfortable lead.
The rehabbing Jack Taschner contributed further to my theory that there's not that much difference between mediocre major league and good AA pitchers, yielding two hits, a walk and a run in one inning of work. Danny Moskos did the same, but all for naught for Reading, as the Curve cruised in winners on the strength of the performances of Chase d'Arnaud (no hits, but 2 walks and 2 runs scored), Hector Gimenez (a two-run bomb in the 7th) and--stop me if you've heard this before--Alex Presley, the 2-for-4 machine that produced yet another 2-for-4 with yet another double.
Tonight the boys take on Reading again, and tomorrow they take on Reading yet again, and our pitchers? Rudy Owens and Bryan Morris. Ladies of Altoona, get your brooms ready!
TIDBIT CORNER
(Here I'm tempted to rail against the sophomoric first initial-first syllable of last word nickname construction so prevalent in our declining culture, but I'll save it for a rainy day. OK, a particularly rainy day.)
Tim Alderson's renaissance continues. It's not so much that he's pitching much better than he has been; he went 6 innings, struck out 5, walked 3, which is actually a weaker K/BB ratio than he usually puts up. But finally, the balls in play are finding their way into Curve gloves, and he left having allowed only one run and staked to a comfortable lead.
The rehabbing Jack Taschner contributed further to my theory that there's not that much difference between mediocre major league and good AA pitchers, yielding two hits, a walk and a run in one inning of work. Danny Moskos did the same, but all for naught for Reading, as the Curve cruised in winners on the strength of the performances of Chase d'Arnaud (no hits, but 2 walks and 2 runs scored), Hector Gimenez (a two-run bomb in the 7th) and--stop me if you've heard this before--Alex Presley, the 2-for-4 machine that produced yet another 2-for-4 with yet another double.
Tonight the boys take on Reading again, and tomorrow they take on Reading yet again, and our pitchers? Rudy Owens and Bryan Morris. Ladies of Altoona, get your brooms ready!
TIDBIT CORNER
- Jose de los Santos appeared as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning. Jose is an awesome, awesome guy, but I can't help but wonder what had Kris Watts occupied at the time.
- Jordy Mercer didn't play. I wasn't there last night, and I don't know whether it was related at all to the nasty fastball he took off his forearm in the 1st inning of Friday's game. He completed that game, so we presume and hope it was just a scheduled day off. But if so, again, we will forever ponder why de los Santos was sighted with a bat in his hands while Mercer remained on the bench.
- I certainly hope Altoona builds a big lead tonight; it's Corey Hamman's turn to pitch an inning or two, and Mike Dubee and Moskos won't be available unless it's an emergency. Here's hoping for seven innings from you, Rudy.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Curve Dominate. I Like That Word. Dominate.
The smoldering hot Curve celebrated their return home in style with a dominating 7 to 1 victory over the struggling Reading Phillies (or, in the vernacular, 'R-Phils.') Justin Wilson was lights-out, racking up 5 strikeouts against only one walk, allowing two hits and no runs over five innings.
Wilson was pinch hit for in the bottom of the fifth, which was weird because:
(a) Wilson was dominating, had a shutout going and had thrown only 76 pitches;
(b) The game was already well in hand, with the Curve up 7-0; and
(c) The pinch hitter was Shelby Ford, who has been hitting only marginally better than Wilson this year.
True, the bases were loaded, but the score was already 7-0 and there were two outs. Matt Walbeck has a very quick hook with his starters; whether that's his own tendency or dictated to him by the Pirates brass, I don't know, but would guess it's the Pirates' doing. I can't say I'm fond of it. At the very least Wilson could have gone one more inning, two if he has an easy sixth, with no risk to his arm at all.
Justin Wilson pitches for the best team in the Eastern League, has a 2.80 ERA and has struck out 47 men (walking 22) in 45 innings--and last night's win improved him to a 3-4 record. Oh, won-lost records, your fickleness knows no end.
As for the Curve, they're well ahead of the Eastern League pack mostly because of their spectacular starting pitching. Wilson, Rudy Owens, and Jared Hughes have all been superb all year, Tim Alderson's pitched much better than his sky-high ERA suggests, and Bryan Morris just joined the team and picked up where he'd left off in the Sally League (kicking ass). The Huntingdon Administration has seemed methodical about promoting pitchers--item: why exactly in the nine hells is Brad Lincoln still in Indianapolis?--and there are more interesting pitchers in West Virginia yet to come; it's likely the Curve will enjoy tremendous pitching all year, and will, absent injuries, be favorites to win the Eastern League title.
On the offense, the Curve attack was fueled largely by--finally!--their 1-2 hitters, Chase d'Arnaud and Gorkys Hernandez, who went a combined 5-for-8 with 2 walks. d'Arnaud scored two; Hernandez drove in two. Everybody in the lineup except Kris Watts and the pitchers reached base, though Jordy Mercer had to get there the hard way, getting drilled in the forearm by the very wild Phillippe Aumont, who walked two and drilled two in the first inning, and didn't get much better after that.
TIDBITS 'R US
Wilson was pinch hit for in the bottom of the fifth, which was weird because:
(a) Wilson was dominating, had a shutout going and had thrown only 76 pitches;
(b) The game was already well in hand, with the Curve up 7-0; and
(c) The pinch hitter was Shelby Ford, who has been hitting only marginally better than Wilson this year.
True, the bases were loaded, but the score was already 7-0 and there were two outs. Matt Walbeck has a very quick hook with his starters; whether that's his own tendency or dictated to him by the Pirates brass, I don't know, but would guess it's the Pirates' doing. I can't say I'm fond of it. At the very least Wilson could have gone one more inning, two if he has an easy sixth, with no risk to his arm at all.
Justin Wilson pitches for the best team in the Eastern League, has a 2.80 ERA and has struck out 47 men (walking 22) in 45 innings--and last night's win improved him to a 3-4 record. Oh, won-lost records, your fickleness knows no end.
As for the Curve, they're well ahead of the Eastern League pack mostly because of their spectacular starting pitching. Wilson, Rudy Owens, and Jared Hughes have all been superb all year, Tim Alderson's pitched much better than his sky-high ERA suggests, and Bryan Morris just joined the team and picked up where he'd left off in the Sally League (kicking ass). The Huntingdon Administration has seemed methodical about promoting pitchers--item: why exactly in the nine hells is Brad Lincoln still in Indianapolis?--and there are more interesting pitchers in West Virginia yet to come; it's likely the Curve will enjoy tremendous pitching all year, and will, absent injuries, be favorites to win the Eastern League title.
On the offense, the Curve attack was fueled largely by--finally!--their 1-2 hitters, Chase d'Arnaud and Gorkys Hernandez, who went a combined 5-for-8 with 2 walks. d'Arnaud scored two; Hernandez drove in two. Everybody in the lineup except Kris Watts and the pitchers reached base, though Jordy Mercer had to get there the hard way, getting drilled in the forearm by the very wild Phillippe Aumont, who walked two and drilled two in the first inning, and didn't get much better after that.
TIDBITS 'R US
- Some guy whose name I have forgotten came up between innings and set fire to everyone's childhoods with his attempts to sing 'Summer of '69' and 'Bad Moon Rising'. I couldn't help but laugh at watching Rudy Owens stare at him, 'God, I can't wait to get to the major leagues and never have to sit through this ever again' written all over his face. Fun times. Hey, between-innings entertainment ranging from amusing to pointless to painful is part of the minor league experience, right?
That reminds me: The Curve run a pregame show, which they display on the big board, before each game and always have some player or staff member on as a guest. A couple weeks ago Jim Negrych was on there, and was asked what was his goal for the season. Well, every player in the minor leagues has the same goal for every season; you'll be waiting a long time for someone to say, "I hope to stay in Altoona long enough at $20,000 a year to have my number retired here."
Jim Negrych has one of those outspoken, I-don't-really-give-a-crap-what-you-think personalities and flunked out of cliché school, so his response made me laugh out loud for its wonderful honestly: My goal, he said, is to get the hell out of Altoona. Well, he didn't say exactly those words, but that was definitely the message. I wish him every luck in his attempt. His best ticket out probably involves learning to play five positions and hit well enough to be a viable major league bench player in the era of the five man bench.
- Left fielder Alex Presley, continuing to channel his inner Stan Musial, went 2-for-4 with a scorching double, raising his Eastern League leading batting line to .375/.411/.565. I would like to see Presley play more center field and Gorkys Hernandez bumped to right; Presley will never be a plus glove in center, but if he can handle the position at all it massively enhances his prospect status. As for Gorkys, well, his prospect status is fading fast, and anyway he is certainly never going to play center field for the Pirates.
- Chase d'Arnaud, for the record, is looking much better with the bat and the glove of late after a terrible introduction to AA. He's playing with a lot more confidence, which is very encouraging news for Pirates fans; if he maintains his skill base as he moves up, d'Arnaud should be the Pirates' opening day shortstop in 2012, which is when the Pirates are aiming at really starting to compete.
- In the 3rd inning, awesomely named Reading catcher Tuffy Gosewisch ripped a line drive into right; Miles Durham misplayed it, stepping forward, and then had to leap as the ball threatened to sail over his head. He made the catch, the fans applauded, and I got a good chuckle.
Sadly, I have to report that Miles Durham is expected to spend the next 10-to-15 years in state prison after his vicious carjacking of Reading superstar Dominic Brown in the sixth inning. Brown hit a beautiful home run off Dustin Molleken in the 6th, a hard 'fliner' (as we at BIS call it) that cleared the (very deep) right field wall by three feet--and then Miles Durham flew into the picture like Michael Jordan and robbed him with a spectacular catch.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Curve Escaped Altoona, But Remain Cold
The Curve have officially hit their first rough patch of the year. The greatly struggling boys got cut down again by the red-hot Richmond Flying Squirrels, 7 to 1.
The Curve pitching has been in and out of late, but the bats have been silent as so many church mice; the boys have managed all of five runs combined in their last four games. As has been the usual theme of late, Alex Presley is raking (3-for-4 last night with a double; now batting .362) but for the most part the rest of the lineup can't find first base. Shelby Ford had a nice night, splitting time between second base and left field and going 2-for-4 with a triple.
Rudy Owens suffered through the same kind of night Tim Alderson did against the Flying Squirrels Thursday; Owens did not yield a solitary extra-base hit, but did yield seven singles, two walks and a hit batsman. The Richmond batters aren't hitting all that well; they're just hitting seeing-eye grounders and bloop liners that are dropping in. Some of that is on the Curve defense; some of it is just random chance. Owens hung in there and ultimately escaped a 5th inning jam--with the aid of a Flying Squirrel baserunner gunned down at home by Shelby Ford--and set them down in the 6th to finish an acceptable performace of 6 innings, 4 runs (3 earned), 3 strikeouts, 2 walks.
The Curve have picked a bad time to slump; the Flying Squirrels have now opened up a 1.5 game lead on them in the division. It's hard being in a slump, especially at a bad time like this. The boys know they're struggling; they feel extra pressure because the next two games in Richmond feel like must-wins and Richmond is the best team in the Eastern League; and before and after every game they have to answer a hundred questions about why they're struggling and how they can get out of it.
And they will get out of it, and soon. Slumps don't last forever (and neither do hot streaks, of course). The boys will enjoy a big inning or two, or score a come from behind win, and life will continue as normal.
We just hope they start tomorrow.
SEMI-RANDOM TIDBITS
The Curve pitching has been in and out of late, but the bats have been silent as so many church mice; the boys have managed all of five runs combined in their last four games. As has been the usual theme of late, Alex Presley is raking (3-for-4 last night with a double; now batting .362) but for the most part the rest of the lineup can't find first base. Shelby Ford had a nice night, splitting time between second base and left field and going 2-for-4 with a triple.
Rudy Owens suffered through the same kind of night Tim Alderson did against the Flying Squirrels Thursday; Owens did not yield a solitary extra-base hit, but did yield seven singles, two walks and a hit batsman. The Richmond batters aren't hitting all that well; they're just hitting seeing-eye grounders and bloop liners that are dropping in. Some of that is on the Curve defense; some of it is just random chance. Owens hung in there and ultimately escaped a 5th inning jam--with the aid of a Flying Squirrel baserunner gunned down at home by Shelby Ford--and set them down in the 6th to finish an acceptable performace of 6 innings, 4 runs (3 earned), 3 strikeouts, 2 walks.
The Curve have picked a bad time to slump; the Flying Squirrels have now opened up a 1.5 game lead on them in the division. It's hard being in a slump, especially at a bad time like this. The boys know they're struggling; they feel extra pressure because the next two games in Richmond feel like must-wins and Richmond is the best team in the Eastern League; and before and after every game they have to answer a hundred questions about why they're struggling and how they can get out of it.
And they will get out of it, and soon. Slumps don't last forever (and neither do hot streaks, of course). The boys will enjoy a big inning or two, or score a come from behind win, and life will continue as normal.
We just hope they start tomorrow.
SEMI-RANDOM TIDBITS
- It's hard to say whether deerfooted Richmond leadoff man Darren Ford was planning it, or just got pissed off when Rudy Owens drilled him leading off the first. But Ford stole second two hitters later, and then, with the same hitter at the plate, jumped a little early and Owens picked him off.
- Curve shortstop Chase d'Arnaud isn't hitting yet, per se, but he's been doing a much better job lately of working the count; he went 0-for-2 tonight, but walked twice and scored the Curve's only run in the top of the first, on Jordy Mercer's single. It says here that if d'Arnaud keeps working the count and waiting for his pitch, the hits will soon come.
- Altoona lost a chance to score in the 4th inning when Hector Gimenez was gunned down at home on Shelby Ford's single. The pitcher was next to bat, so you can't really fault Matt Walbeck for sending Gimenez in. The chance Rudy Owens doesn't end the inning is only around 20 percent; so if you think Gimenez's chance of scoring is 25 percent or better, you send him.
- Gorkys Hernandez made an error in the 4th inning to allow Erie shortstop Brandon Crawford to move up a base, costing the Curve at least one run. In the top of the 5th, Josh Harrison pinch hit for Hernandez and then stayed in the game at second base, Shelby Ford sliding to left field and Alex Presley over to center. I haven't heard anything about Hernandez being injured; his exit from the game was apparently punitive. We'll keep an eye on what happens. I keep hoping--still am hoping--Hernandez turns things around. His athleticism is obvious, but so far it hasn't translated into results very much, and he may be wearing out the coaching staff's patience.
- The Curve bullpen's struggles continue. Tony Watson yielded 2 runs in 1.1 innings of work, and then Corey Hamman relieved him in the 8th and gave up two singles. The good news: Hamman didn't walk anybody. The bad news: He did hit two batters in 0.2 innings. It's fair to say he's fighting to find his control right now.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
That Was Kind of Embarrassing.
The formerly user-friendly Harrisburg Senators served the Curve up their own butts on a platter today, 7 to 0. We got shut out by a four headed monster of Erik Arnesen, Rafael Martin, Yunior Novoa and Adam Carr, who dominated the Altoona lineup throughout.
Justin Wilson (1-3) looked excellent for most of his start; he ran into trouble in the 4th and 6th, but battled gamely through it, escaping with just one run allowed in six innings of work.
That's when the curious managerial decision happened.
I am a fan of Matt Walbeck's work as manager. He is articulate, smart, and seems to handle the team very well. I have no idea whether the curious management of the 7th inning was Walbeck's own, or if--as does happen sometimes in the minor leagues--it was dictated to him from above that these are the relievers we want you to use tonight, in these innings or in this order.
I am sure what, whoever made this particular decision, he or they had good reasons for it. I'm just not smart enough, I guess, to figure out what they are, because I'm coming up with fistfuls of air in my effort to grasp why Corey Hamman was sent out to start the 7th inning of a one run game.
You'll recall that yesterday's match was rained/snowed out after five innings. Derek Hankins worked all five innings in question; the entire bullpen was rested and ready to go. That includes Danny Moskos, Mike Dubee, Ronald Uviedo--those are some good relief pitchers. And Dubee did, in fact, enter the game after it was well out of hand, later in the 7th, and Moskos in the 9th.
I have talked to numerous Curve fans who have generally the same things to say about Corey Hamman: Corey Hamman sucks, Corey Hamman is awful, Corey Hamman should be driving a truck, and so forth. I always tell them what I tell you now, that I used to talk in terms like that, but no more; because the fact is that Corey Hamman could strike you or I out a hundred times in a row if he was ever called upon to do so. Corey Hamman is better at pitching than 99.99% of the human race. And in all probability he has worked very hard to get to that level, and continues to work very hard to stay there.
The fact does remain that--and he spent last year and the past few weeks establishing that--it doesn't seem like he can get AA hitters out. This is no secret.
It's also no secret that Hamman is 30 years old and is in all probability never going to pitch in the major leagues. If you want him in your AA team's bullpen to fill out the roster, that seems okay--you can send him in for mopup work to save everybody else's arms, when the game's out of hand and/or everyone else is tired. That's fine. No harm there, and you give him a chance to prove he's better than he has been.
What I can't for the life of me understand is why you would send the 30-year-old who hasn't gotten AA hitters out for a few years now into a 1-0 game in the 7th inning, when everyone in your bullpen is rested and ready. Well... I kind of think I might understand. The logic might work something like this:
(1) My available relievers today, unless the starter gets chased in the 3rd inning or the game goes 14 innings, are Hamman, Dubee, and Moskos, in that order. (It's normal for the relievers to know a day in advance when they should expect to be working.)
(2) It's the 7th inning, and I know I'm using those three guys. Therefore, I'll send Hamman out for the 7th, Dubee for the 8th, Moskos for the 9th. That was the plan going in, and I'll stick to it now.
The logic was probably something like that. If it was, I just can't see the wisdom in being that regimented about pitcher usage; I can't see the harm in instead saying, okay, if we're ahead or behind by 3 runs or more, then Hamman pitches; if the game's close, we'll use Dubee and Moskos first, and then maybe Hamman or maybe Uviedo for the 9th or 10th.
That makes a lot more sense to me, because in 1-0 game, you do not want to let Harrisburg pull away in the 7th, demoralizing your team. That's what happened in this case, of course; Hamman couldn't find the strike zone on his warmup pitches today, gave up two walks, a single, two bombs, five runs, and then was replaced by Mike Dubee.
Matt Walbeck is smarter than I am, and the Pirates organization is presumably smarter than I am, and they have good reasons for doing what they did, I'm certain. I'm unable to grasp why Mike Dubee didn't start the 7th inning.
RANDOM TIDBITS
Justin Wilson (1-3) looked excellent for most of his start; he ran into trouble in the 4th and 6th, but battled gamely through it, escaping with just one run allowed in six innings of work.
That's when the curious managerial decision happened.
I am a fan of Matt Walbeck's work as manager. He is articulate, smart, and seems to handle the team very well. I have no idea whether the curious management of the 7th inning was Walbeck's own, or if--as does happen sometimes in the minor leagues--it was dictated to him from above that these are the relievers we want you to use tonight, in these innings or in this order.
I am sure what, whoever made this particular decision, he or they had good reasons for it. I'm just not smart enough, I guess, to figure out what they are, because I'm coming up with fistfuls of air in my effort to grasp why Corey Hamman was sent out to start the 7th inning of a one run game.
You'll recall that yesterday's match was rained/snowed out after five innings. Derek Hankins worked all five innings in question; the entire bullpen was rested and ready to go. That includes Danny Moskos, Mike Dubee, Ronald Uviedo--those are some good relief pitchers. And Dubee did, in fact, enter the game after it was well out of hand, later in the 7th, and Moskos in the 9th.
I have talked to numerous Curve fans who have generally the same things to say about Corey Hamman: Corey Hamman sucks, Corey Hamman is awful, Corey Hamman should be driving a truck, and so forth. I always tell them what I tell you now, that I used to talk in terms like that, but no more; because the fact is that Corey Hamman could strike you or I out a hundred times in a row if he was ever called upon to do so. Corey Hamman is better at pitching than 99.99% of the human race. And in all probability he has worked very hard to get to that level, and continues to work very hard to stay there.
The fact does remain that--and he spent last year and the past few weeks establishing that--it doesn't seem like he can get AA hitters out. This is no secret.
It's also no secret that Hamman is 30 years old and is in all probability never going to pitch in the major leagues. If you want him in your AA team's bullpen to fill out the roster, that seems okay--you can send him in for mopup work to save everybody else's arms, when the game's out of hand and/or everyone else is tired. That's fine. No harm there, and you give him a chance to prove he's better than he has been.
What I can't for the life of me understand is why you would send the 30-year-old who hasn't gotten AA hitters out for a few years now into a 1-0 game in the 7th inning, when everyone in your bullpen is rested and ready. Well... I kind of think I might understand. The logic might work something like this:
(1) My available relievers today, unless the starter gets chased in the 3rd inning or the game goes 14 innings, are Hamman, Dubee, and Moskos, in that order. (It's normal for the relievers to know a day in advance when they should expect to be working.)
(2) It's the 7th inning, and I know I'm using those three guys. Therefore, I'll send Hamman out for the 7th, Dubee for the 8th, Moskos for the 9th. That was the plan going in, and I'll stick to it now.
The logic was probably something like that. If it was, I just can't see the wisdom in being that regimented about pitcher usage; I can't see the harm in instead saying, okay, if we're ahead or behind by 3 runs or more, then Hamman pitches; if the game's close, we'll use Dubee and Moskos first, and then maybe Hamman or maybe Uviedo for the 9th or 10th.
That makes a lot more sense to me, because in 1-0 game, you do not want to let Harrisburg pull away in the 7th, demoralizing your team. That's what happened in this case, of course; Hamman couldn't find the strike zone on his warmup pitches today, gave up two walks, a single, two bombs, five runs, and then was replaced by Mike Dubee.
Matt Walbeck is smarter than I am, and the Pirates organization is presumably smarter than I am, and they have good reasons for doing what they did, I'm certain. I'm unable to grasp why Mike Dubee didn't start the 7th inning.
RANDOM TIDBITS
- In the 4th inning, Harrisburg shortstop Danny Espinosa was "picked off and caught stealing" (per the game log) on a very odd play. Justin Wilson threw the ball in the dirt, and Hector Gimenez expertly blocked it; the ball jumped straight up into the air and down into Gimenez's glove. Gimenez looked up and Espinosa was just kind of standing around in no man's land halfway between first and second, wandering over to second at a leisurely pace. It seemed like he assumed when he saw the ball up in the air that it had gone back to the screen; that, or (this is my theory) Espinosa thought the pitch was ball four. It was in fact ball three. Wilson at that particular time had been throwing ball after ball, and Espinosa may have lost count.
- In the 7th inning, near the end of Corey Hamman's inglorious night, he struck out Erik Arnesen on a very wild pitch in the dirt that got past Hector Gimenez. Gimenez practically walked after it, allowing Arnesen to reach first at his leisure. Gimenez had a very unhappy look on his face right then. Unprofessional, perhaps, but Gimenez is a good catcher. It was a bad inning for the Curve all around, one of those innings that everyone suffers through from time to time, when everything just gets away from you.
- Danny Moskos pitched the 9th, simply because he hadn't worked in a while, and was rusty, unable to find the strike zone, and got knocked around a little bit.
- The Curve 1-2-3 hitters (Chase d'Arnaud, Gorkys Hernandez, Jordy Mercer) were an ugly combined 0-11, with one walk. It may be time to move d'Arnaud (.214) and Hernandez (.205), in particular, down the order and take some pressure off them, and perhaps move Josh Harrison, Alex Presley and/or Jim Negrych up to the top.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
They Played Five Innings in the Winter Storm
And you thought the polar bears were bad the last three games.
Most of the brave few in attendance at the BCB likely couldn't tell you who won the game if you asked them now, or at least would have to think about it. I looked it up, and the user-friendly Harrisburg Senators eked out the win, 3 to 2 in five absurd innings.
The first two innings went by just fine, actually. Under cloudy but dry skies, Harrisburg pushed a run across in the top of the 2nd, helped along when Curve starter Derek Hankins (now 2-1) threw the ball into center field on a pickoff attempt, putting Chris Marrero on third base with no outs. He scored on a sacrifice fly, and the run counted as unearned. That always struck me as curious: It's an 'unearned' run even though the pitcher made the error himself. I can see the logic behind it--ERA is supposed to measure only how he pitched, and you can look at his defensive numbers for the rest--but it still strikes me as fundamentally nonsensical, that a run the pitcher brought around via his own error is called 'unearned'.
The weather went from mildly bad to wacked-out insane in the3rd inning. The rain came down; the wind picked up; and by the end of the 4th the wind chill was around 25 degrees and the rain was pouring. The powers that be were hellbent on getting five innings in, though, and so they got five innings in, even though the rain and wind intensified and, in the 5th inning, it was pouring in sheets and snowing. Harrisburg committed several comical errors clearly caused by the slippery ball, but the Curve were unable to cash in on them.
Our failed scientists have yet to come up with waterproof paper, so the handful of scouts on hand joined me near the customer service booth, and team officials set them up a row of chairs. Rudy Owens and Tim Alderson, assigned pitch charting duties today, came with them, but like myself preferred to stand. (That's both of the last two Class A Starting Pitchers of the Year, I might note.) They had this disbelieving, 'this is the craziest thing I ever saw' look on their faces, watching snowflakes the size of golf balls fall in droves in mid-May.
Sometimes you get reminded that it really is a big world out there. Sub-freezing wind chills and rain-snow mix is fairly common in April in May in Altoona, but that reminder came to me when Tim said, 'This is the most snow I've ever seen in my life.' Tim is from Arizona, and spends his springs in Florida.
Rudy's from Arizona, too, but didn't comment on whether he'd seen snow before. I did get to overhear him telling Tim about pitching in the pouring rain in West Virginia last year, and shaking off Tony Sanchez over and over because he wanted to throw a curveball and Sanchez kept calling for a fastball. Sanchez will probably be joining us in Altoona before long; but then, Rudy might have pitched his way to Indianapolis by then. 37 strikeouts, 6 walks in 33 innings speak for themselves. If he keeps that up, he should be in Indianapolis by the end of June, and on track to be in Pittsburgh by this time next year. There's not much blocking him from the Pirates rotation, sadly.
We're on for another 10:30 A.M. tilt with the user-friendly Senators tomorrow morning, and then the boys hit the road for a while. The latest projections as of now are that the rain should abate in the late morning, so we should be able to play the game, perhaps after a brief rain delay at the start.
Most of the brave few in attendance at the BCB likely couldn't tell you who won the game if you asked them now, or at least would have to think about it. I looked it up, and the user-friendly Harrisburg Senators eked out the win, 3 to 2 in five absurd innings.
The first two innings went by just fine, actually. Under cloudy but dry skies, Harrisburg pushed a run across in the top of the 2nd, helped along when Curve starter Derek Hankins (now 2-1) threw the ball into center field on a pickoff attempt, putting Chris Marrero on third base with no outs. He scored on a sacrifice fly, and the run counted as unearned. That always struck me as curious: It's an 'unearned' run even though the pitcher made the error himself. I can see the logic behind it--ERA is supposed to measure only how he pitched, and you can look at his defensive numbers for the rest--but it still strikes me as fundamentally nonsensical, that a run the pitcher brought around via his own error is called 'unearned'.
The weather went from mildly bad to wacked-out insane in the3rd inning. The rain came down; the wind picked up; and by the end of the 4th the wind chill was around 25 degrees and the rain was pouring. The powers that be were hellbent on getting five innings in, though, and so they got five innings in, even though the rain and wind intensified and, in the 5th inning, it was pouring in sheets and snowing. Harrisburg committed several comical errors clearly caused by the slippery ball, but the Curve were unable to cash in on them.
Our failed scientists have yet to come up with waterproof paper, so the handful of scouts on hand joined me near the customer service booth, and team officials set them up a row of chairs. Rudy Owens and Tim Alderson, assigned pitch charting duties today, came with them, but like myself preferred to stand. (That's both of the last two Class A Starting Pitchers of the Year, I might note.) They had this disbelieving, 'this is the craziest thing I ever saw' look on their faces, watching snowflakes the size of golf balls fall in droves in mid-May.
Sometimes you get reminded that it really is a big world out there. Sub-freezing wind chills and rain-snow mix is fairly common in April in May in Altoona, but that reminder came to me when Tim said, 'This is the most snow I've ever seen in my life.' Tim is from Arizona, and spends his springs in Florida.
Rudy's from Arizona, too, but didn't comment on whether he'd seen snow before. I did get to overhear him telling Tim about pitching in the pouring rain in West Virginia last year, and shaking off Tony Sanchez over and over because he wanted to throw a curveball and Sanchez kept calling for a fastball. Sanchez will probably be joining us in Altoona before long; but then, Rudy might have pitched his way to Indianapolis by then. 37 strikeouts, 6 walks in 33 innings speak for themselves. If he keeps that up, he should be in Indianapolis by the end of June, and on track to be in Pittsburgh by this time next year. There's not much blocking him from the Pirates rotation, sadly.
We're on for another 10:30 A.M. tilt with the user-friendly Senators tomorrow morning, and then the boys hit the road for a while. The latest projections as of now are that the rain should abate in the late morning, so we should be able to play the game, perhaps after a brief rain delay at the start.
Monday, May 10, 2010
When 15 Minutes End
The Curve had their way with the user-friendly Harrisburg Senators yet again, 9 to 1. It was a ho-hum thrashing, really. The Curve put it away in the 4th inning with a flurry of offense: double, single, double, single, double, all in a row, all for one RBI each. It was a team effort. Everyone in the lineup except Matt Hague recorded a hit (including pitcher Jared Hughes, now 6-1), and even then, Hague did score a run after reaching on a fielder's choice. Enjoying an especially great game was Miles Durham, who went 1-1 with a double, three walks, two runs, two RBI. Apparently bowling with me is a good way to start a hot streak. I'm accepting bids, future Pirates stars! Jordy Mercer also went 3-5 with a double.
In the 7th inning, the few proud faithful remaining in the BCB, myself included, saw a ghost.
It started when the Senators sent in a new pitcher to start the 7th. I looked at him and chuckled; the fellow was tall and gangly, skinny, all knees and elbows, as they say. I watched him warm up; long motion, slings the ball, throws very hard and all over the place.
I grabbed my program, looked him up. I couldn't believe my eyes: Mike MacDougal is still alive!
Believe it or not, Mike MacDougal was an All-Star, once. He pitched for the Royals, and picked up a few saves, and there was this rule that at least one player from every team had to be on the All-Star team, and... yeah. That's pretty much how it played out. But you and I can never take that away from Mike MacDougal: he didn't merely pitch in the Show. Mike MacDougal was a major league All-Star. The little 'All-Star' banner is strung across his page on baseball-reference.com, and will remain there until the Earth crashes into the Sun, long after he and I and you are all dead.
And so, after Altoona kicked him around for a little bit and--Royals fans will not be at all surprised at this next part--took a few walks, after Miles Durham came up with the bases loaded and decided, hey, I'm going for the grand slam here, swung and whiffed on two fastballs, then shrugged and took four straight balls to ring up another RBI, and Mike MacDougal walked off the field, head down, shoulders slumped, resigned to his fate, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.
It's easy to point out Mike MacDougal, in the major leagues, wasn't very good. That's true. But for 15 minutes there he was a star, dammit, and now that 15 minutes is long over, even the memory of it slowly smoldering to ashes in all minds but his own. And there's something sad about seeing a man's 15 minutes end, walking off a mound in front of 400 fans out in Nowhere, Pennsylvania.
I'll probably never meet Mike MacDougal, but I'll say this to him, and for him: You were a heck of a pitcher, Mike, a lot better than any of us that want to criticize your failings now, and I was even rooting for you a little at the end there.
In the 7th inning, the few proud faithful remaining in the BCB, myself included, saw a ghost.
It started when the Senators sent in a new pitcher to start the 7th. I looked at him and chuckled; the fellow was tall and gangly, skinny, all knees and elbows, as they say. I watched him warm up; long motion, slings the ball, throws very hard and all over the place.
I grabbed my program, looked him up. I couldn't believe my eyes: Mike MacDougal is still alive!
Believe it or not, Mike MacDougal was an All-Star, once. He pitched for the Royals, and picked up a few saves, and there was this rule that at least one player from every team had to be on the All-Star team, and... yeah. That's pretty much how it played out. But you and I can never take that away from Mike MacDougal: he didn't merely pitch in the Show. Mike MacDougal was a major league All-Star. The little 'All-Star' banner is strung across his page on baseball-reference.com, and will remain there until the Earth crashes into the Sun, long after he and I and you are all dead.
And so, after Altoona kicked him around for a little bit and--Royals fans will not be at all surprised at this next part--took a few walks, after Miles Durham came up with the bases loaded and decided, hey, I'm going for the grand slam here, swung and whiffed on two fastballs, then shrugged and took four straight balls to ring up another RBI, and Mike MacDougal walked off the field, head down, shoulders slumped, resigned to his fate, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.
It's easy to point out Mike MacDougal, in the major leagues, wasn't very good. That's true. But for 15 minutes there he was a star, dammit, and now that 15 minutes is long over, even the memory of it slowly smoldering to ashes in all minds but his own. And there's something sad about seeing a man's 15 minutes end, walking off a mound in front of 400 fans out in Nowhere, Pennsylvania.
I'll probably never meet Mike MacDougal, but I'll say this to him, and for him: You were a heck of a pitcher, Mike, a lot better than any of us that want to criticize your failings now, and I was even rooting for you a little at the end there.
Curve Lose, Only 6 People Dragged Off by Polar Bears
Well, damned Erie blew our doors off again, 10 to 7, on another blustery, windy, cold day. The ladies did not turn up, sadly. About 1,000 people were in the park at game time, and maybe 200 people that weren't being paid to be there remained by the ninth inning. God alone knows what they're going to do with all the pink handbags. They'll probably be shooting them out of that air bazooka Steamer carries around in 2014.
Speaking of pink, the Curve used pink bats; then, at the end of the game, they switched back to normally colored bats and started scoring runs. Coincidence? I mean, come on, Andy Oliver is supposed to be afraid of a guy with a pink bat?
Erie was big on the Three True Outcomes yesterday. Curve pitchers struck out a team record 16 batters*, but also walked more than a few and gave up three home runs. Starter Rudy Owens looked dominating at times, but walks and home runs proved his undoing in the 4th and 5th frames. He left after five innings trailing 5 to 2, and took his first loss as a... what do you call a person who plays for the Curve, anyway? A Curve, I guess, but it's pretty weird. Not like someone who plays for Richmond. He can proudly impress women by telling them, 'I'm a Flying Squirrel.'
* The Curve struck out 16 opponents in 'one' game before, but come on, that game was 19 innings long.
Mike Dubee and Ronald Uviedo finished things out for the Curve, but didn't fare any better than Owens, giving up a couple runs each. That proved costly, as the Curve staged a late comeback in the 8th and 9th.
Random tidbits:
In the 2nd inning, struggling Erie shortstop Cale Iorg suffered the first of his four strikeouts--in a row--when Rudy Owens broke his back with a sweeping, 63 MPH curveball, a Bert Blyleven special. I asked Owens about it last night and he didn't know what the hell I was talking about. Maybe it was just a slower than usual curve; he didn't throw anything else quite like it. It was terrific fun to watch. Rudy's also refreshingly honest; his comment on Curve-slaying Erie catcher Max St. Pierre (Five home runs on the season now, four of them at the BCB) was, 'That guy owns me.'
No worries, Rudy. Dustin Molleken's got your back.
In the 7th inning, play was held up for 30 seconds because, as Alex Presley came to bat, his walkup ditty (typically about 6-8 seconds) was left on all the way through the first verse of 'Fight for Your Right to Party' while plate umpire Joe Hannigan gestured at the booth and Presley and Max St. Pierre stared on. Apparently someone up there is a Beastie Boys fan.
Alex Presley is turning out to be this year's fan favorite. Is this because:
(a) he's on fire with the bat and hitting like .750?
(b) of his name?
(c) of his Beastie Boys walkup music?
It's some of all of the above, certainly, but I'm leaning toward (c) as the primary factor here.
By the way, I did end up attending the bowling event for the Make A Wish Foundation, along with almost all of the Curve players and staff. You missed out. I'll post a trip report on that tomorrow, I hope.
Speaking of pink, the Curve used pink bats; then, at the end of the game, they switched back to normally colored bats and started scoring runs. Coincidence? I mean, come on, Andy Oliver is supposed to be afraid of a guy with a pink bat?
Erie was big on the Three True Outcomes yesterday. Curve pitchers struck out a team record 16 batters*, but also walked more than a few and gave up three home runs. Starter Rudy Owens looked dominating at times, but walks and home runs proved his undoing in the 4th and 5th frames. He left after five innings trailing 5 to 2, and took his first loss as a... what do you call a person who plays for the Curve, anyway? A Curve, I guess, but it's pretty weird. Not like someone who plays for Richmond. He can proudly impress women by telling them, 'I'm a Flying Squirrel.'
* The Curve struck out 16 opponents in 'one' game before, but come on, that game was 19 innings long.
Mike Dubee and Ronald Uviedo finished things out for the Curve, but didn't fare any better than Owens, giving up a couple runs each. That proved costly, as the Curve staged a late comeback in the 8th and 9th.
Random tidbits:
In the 2nd inning, struggling Erie shortstop Cale Iorg suffered the first of his four strikeouts--in a row--when Rudy Owens broke his back with a sweeping, 63 MPH curveball, a Bert Blyleven special. I asked Owens about it last night and he didn't know what the hell I was talking about. Maybe it was just a slower than usual curve; he didn't throw anything else quite like it. It was terrific fun to watch. Rudy's also refreshingly honest; his comment on Curve-slaying Erie catcher Max St. Pierre (Five home runs on the season now, four of them at the BCB) was, 'That guy owns me.'
No worries, Rudy. Dustin Molleken's got your back.
In the 7th inning, play was held up for 30 seconds because, as Alex Presley came to bat, his walkup ditty (typically about 6-8 seconds) was left on all the way through the first verse of 'Fight for Your Right to Party' while plate umpire Joe Hannigan gestured at the booth and Presley and Max St. Pierre stared on. Apparently someone up there is a Beastie Boys fan.
Alex Presley is turning out to be this year's fan favorite. Is this because:
(a) he's on fire with the bat and hitting like .750?
(b) of his name?
(c) of his Beastie Boys walkup music?
It's some of all of the above, certainly, but I'm leaning toward (c) as the primary factor here.
By the way, I did end up attending the bowling event for the Make A Wish Foundation, along with almost all of the Curve players and staff. You missed out. I'll post a trip report on that tomorrow, I hope.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Hey, You! Bowl With the Curve! It's Cool!
No, really, it is.
I'm not sure if there's still space available or not--probably not--but after Sunday's game (2:00 start time) against damned Erie, about an hour after the game ends, you can head on down to Holiday Bowl and spend a couple hours hanging out and slinging bowling balls with many of your favorite Curve stars.
If space does happen to still be available, you should quit reading this and dial 814-283-3130 right now and sign up. It's only 25 bucks, and all proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Honestly, you're some kind of cold bastard if you can't spare the price of dinner for two at Applebee's for sick kids anyway. Doing that and bowling with the Curve? Slam dunk.
You can also sign up at the customer service center behind home plate (which I will likely be standing slightly left of; interrupt me at your own peril), but if you wait until game time tomorrow, space will probably be filled. It probably already is. I should have blogged this days ago, so I guess you can blame me if it's too late.
I personally will not be able to attend, by the way, because--seriously--I may be the worst bowler in the history of mankind. I enjoy it well enough, but I'm afraid someone may be recording the scores for posterity, which would mean I would no doubt break the Altoona city record for worst score in a bowling game by an adult (currently held by Barack Obama).
I'm not sure if there's still space available or not--probably not--but after Sunday's game (2:00 start time) against damned Erie, about an hour after the game ends, you can head on down to Holiday Bowl and spend a couple hours hanging out and slinging bowling balls with many of your favorite Curve stars.
If space does happen to still be available, you should quit reading this and dial 814-283-3130 right now and sign up. It's only 25 bucks, and all proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Honestly, you're some kind of cold bastard if you can't spare the price of dinner for two at Applebee's for sick kids anyway. Doing that and bowling with the Curve? Slam dunk.
You can also sign up at the customer service center behind home plate (which I will likely be standing slightly left of; interrupt me at your own peril), but if you wait until game time tomorrow, space will probably be filled. It probably already is. I should have blogged this days ago, so I guess you can blame me if it's too late.
I personally will not be able to attend, by the way, because--seriously--I may be the worst bowler in the history of mankind. I enjoy it well enough, but I'm afraid someone may be recording the scores for posterity, which would mean I would no doubt break the Altoona city record for worst score in a bowling game by an adult (currently held by Barack Obama).
Curve Win, No One Dragged Off by Polar Bears
The boys won a wild one at the blustery cold BCB over those damned Erie SeaWolves, 9-7.
The odd tactical move of the night belonged to Erie manager Phil Nevin (remember him? It feels like he only washed out of the major leagues two years ago). Thad Weber, who used to be a prospect but nowadays is more of a punching bag, gave up six runs in the second inning: Single, double, double, single, flyout, single (plus a two-base error that put Chase d'Arnaud on third), single, single, single, sac fly, groundout.
Yeowch.
Give up six runs on a three-run bomb and a two-run double, sure, that's normal. But Weber walked no one this inning; the Curve were swinging the bats and hittin' them where they ain't. Six singles, two doubles, most of the singles on seeing-eye grounders or low liners. It's one of those innings that brings out the philosopher in me. Was Weber really pitching poorly, or was he just spectacularly unlucky? Balls in play, especially ground balls, are outs a predictable percentage of the time, but of course there are clusters of outs and clusters of hits (big innings). Is it mostly random, or are they caused by the pitcher's performance actually swinging up and down? Such is debated in baseball circles all over. Honestly, I have no idea, nor am I sure whether it matters.
Anyway, all sides agree it happens often enough. What doesn't happen very often is the pitcher--Thad Weber, in case you forgot--staying in to pitch to eleven hitters in one inning, finally escaping, and then staying in to pitch four more innings. And pitched them well; not until Weber, somewhat inexplicably, came out to start the seventh did the Curve finally rough him up and chase him.
Never ones to leave their fans bored, the Curve let the Seawolves hang around. It was 6-4 after Erie chased Tim Alderson--more on him in a later post--and then Mike Beltram ran them out of a potentially big inning trying to go first-to-third on Cale Iorg's single with the leadoff hitter due up and Altoona's worst pitcher in 2010 (Dustin Molleken) on the mound. Miles Durham gunned him down, his second Baserunner Kill in as many games. Very, very bad mistake by Beltram and/or Erie's third base coach.
The Curve seemed to pull away with Josh Harrison's two run double in the 7th, but Jeff Sues, still struggling with inconsistency, let Erie back into it, 9-7, before Daniel Moskos came in and slammed the door on the SeaWolves and sparked celebration on the streets of Altoona.
This is pure speculation on my part, but I do not expect Moskos to spend more than another week or two in Altoona. Now that he's a reliever, he should be in Pittsburgh by year's end as a LOOGY (Lefthanded One Out GuY) by September, and, heck, let's go crazy; we can hope he might even prove a useful reliever even against the occasional right-handed hitter. Anyway, the Eastern League isn't providing Reliever Moskos much challenge, so his promotion to Indianapolis is probably imminent.
Tomorrow we'll be live at the BCB, Section 108 and/or standing near the giant mascot bobbleheads behind the plate as always. Game time temperature is expected to be around 40 degrees, with high winds. They're giving away handbags to the first 2,000 women in the park*; I really have no idea whether anyone will turn up for them. I mean, if it were bobblehead dolls or little branded baseballs or something, I'm sure 2,000 men would show up just to collect the loot, and would be gone by the 4th inning. Guys love random loot.
I'm confident that, given the weather conditions, by the 6th inning there won't be 800 people left in the park. What I don't know is whether 2,000 women will show up to collect their handbags and then go home, or if the women will prove not to care so much about a handbag they'll never use and only 800 people will show up in the first place. I hope they turn up; the bigger the crowd, the more fun for everyone, if you ask me. I can't help but wonder what the Curve folks are going to do with all those handbags if 2,000 ladies don't appear.
* Don't get me wrong... well, OK, somebody's going to get me wrong, but I can live with that. I totally support 'ladies' day' type promotions, and I'm glad the Curve are doing something special for the ladies. It is Mother's Day, after all (though you don't have to be a mother to collect the loot tomorrow, girls and ladies!) I just can't help but wonder what would happen if a sports team announced, we're giving loot to the first 2,000 men to show up, but women aren't allowed to have any.
Well... I lied; of course we all know what would happen. Lawsuits would happen. I have no particular comment; I just think it's interesting. From a business standpoint, it makes sense because most of your customer base is already male; they're going to turn up whether you give them free stuff or not (as long as the team's winning, which I'm happy to report the Curve are.)
The odd tactical move of the night belonged to Erie manager Phil Nevin (remember him? It feels like he only washed out of the major leagues two years ago). Thad Weber, who used to be a prospect but nowadays is more of a punching bag, gave up six runs in the second inning: Single, double, double, single, flyout, single (plus a two-base error that put Chase d'Arnaud on third), single, single, single, sac fly, groundout.
Yeowch.
Give up six runs on a three-run bomb and a two-run double, sure, that's normal. But Weber walked no one this inning; the Curve were swinging the bats and hittin' them where they ain't. Six singles, two doubles, most of the singles on seeing-eye grounders or low liners. It's one of those innings that brings out the philosopher in me. Was Weber really pitching poorly, or was he just spectacularly unlucky? Balls in play, especially ground balls, are outs a predictable percentage of the time, but of course there are clusters of outs and clusters of hits (big innings). Is it mostly random, or are they caused by the pitcher's performance actually swinging up and down? Such is debated in baseball circles all over. Honestly, I have no idea, nor am I sure whether it matters.
Anyway, all sides agree it happens often enough. What doesn't happen very often is the pitcher--Thad Weber, in case you forgot--staying in to pitch to eleven hitters in one inning, finally escaping, and then staying in to pitch four more innings. And pitched them well; not until Weber, somewhat inexplicably, came out to start the seventh did the Curve finally rough him up and chase him.
Never ones to leave their fans bored, the Curve let the Seawolves hang around. It was 6-4 after Erie chased Tim Alderson--more on him in a later post--and then Mike Beltram ran them out of a potentially big inning trying to go first-to-third on Cale Iorg's single with the leadoff hitter due up and Altoona's worst pitcher in 2010 (Dustin Molleken) on the mound. Miles Durham gunned him down, his second Baserunner Kill in as many games. Very, very bad mistake by Beltram and/or Erie's third base coach.
The Curve seemed to pull away with Josh Harrison's two run double in the 7th, but Jeff Sues, still struggling with inconsistency, let Erie back into it, 9-7, before Daniel Moskos came in and slammed the door on the SeaWolves and sparked celebration on the streets of Altoona.
This is pure speculation on my part, but I do not expect Moskos to spend more than another week or two in Altoona. Now that he's a reliever, he should be in Pittsburgh by year's end as a LOOGY (Lefthanded One Out GuY) by September, and, heck, let's go crazy; we can hope he might even prove a useful reliever even against the occasional right-handed hitter. Anyway, the Eastern League isn't providing Reliever Moskos much challenge, so his promotion to Indianapolis is probably imminent.
Tomorrow we'll be live at the BCB, Section 108 and/or standing near the giant mascot bobbleheads behind the plate as always. Game time temperature is expected to be around 40 degrees, with high winds. They're giving away handbags to the first 2,000 women in the park*; I really have no idea whether anyone will turn up for them. I mean, if it were bobblehead dolls or little branded baseballs or something, I'm sure 2,000 men would show up just to collect the loot, and would be gone by the 4th inning. Guys love random loot.
I'm confident that, given the weather conditions, by the 6th inning there won't be 800 people left in the park. What I don't know is whether 2,000 women will show up to collect their handbags and then go home, or if the women will prove not to care so much about a handbag they'll never use and only 800 people will show up in the first place. I hope they turn up; the bigger the crowd, the more fun for everyone, if you ask me. I can't help but wonder what the Curve folks are going to do with all those handbags if 2,000 ladies don't appear.
* Don't get me wrong... well, OK, somebody's going to get me wrong, but I can live with that. I totally support 'ladies' day' type promotions, and I'm glad the Curve are doing something special for the ladies. It is Mother's Day, after all (though you don't have to be a mother to collect the loot tomorrow, girls and ladies!) I just can't help but wonder what would happen if a sports team announced, we're giving loot to the first 2,000 men to show up, but women aren't allowed to have any.
Well... I lied; of course we all know what would happen. Lawsuits would happen. I have no particular comment; I just think it's interesting. From a business standpoint, it makes sense because most of your customer base is already male; they're going to turn up whether you give them free stuff or not (as long as the team's winning, which I'm happy to report the Curve are.)
Justin Wilson Lost Us This Game! The Box Score Says So!
Webkinz giveaway night was uneventful. There were lines when the gates opened at 5:20, but they were gone in short order, and most of the 3,000 or so in attendance were gone by the time the game ended (9:30). I tried to convince Matt Hoover that I was only 14, but he didn't go for it. I'll be depressed for a week now. I really wanted that Webkinz.
Justin Wilson pitched a fantastic game in the BCB last night, going 6 innings with 7 strikeouts, yielding only 2 walks and 3 hits. He gave up one run in the top of the first on a double by Cesar Nicolas, and then wiped Erie out for the following five innings. That's the good news.
The bad news is, that one run was all Erie needed.
They scored two more off Corey Hamman and Mike Dubee in the top of the ninth, just to be sure, but Brooks Brown finished what Dwayne Below started and the Curve were shut out for the first time this season, 3-0.
Dwayne Below entered this game 1-3 with an ERA north of 5, so I was expecting to see a shootout, something like 9-6. Instead I was treated to the best pitchers' duel I've seen so far in 2010. Below was especially impressive. Working with a slightly odd delivery with a straight overhand arm slot, a low-90s fastball and a curveball, Below dominated Altoona hitters for five innings. The most impressive thing about Below was, the man pounded the strike zone. Strike after strike after strike after strike, and these were hardly meatballs; the Curve couldn't hit him. Below opened the game with nine straight strikes, and at another point threw 12 straight strikes.
In the Eastern League, that's a revelation; I don't think I've ever seen a pitcher crank out strikes like that at the BCB before, except a couple of the uber-prospects like Matusz. There are pitchers that have superb control, but walk four or five batters a game anyway because their stuff isn't very good and they have to nibble around the corners and try to get hitters to swing at stuff outside the strike zone.
Below also--and this is very rare in AA ball--threw his curve for strikes, over and over. Now, that will get you killed in the major leagues unless you're Bert Blyleven, but a pitcher who can fire strikes like that and aim his curveball is a pitcher worth watching. Below is 24, old for AA ball, but I suspect if his arm holds together you might see him pitching well in a major league bullpen near you within a year or two.
I say bullpen because, despite throwing only 63 pitches over 5 innings--amazing how you can keep your pitch count down when you throw strikes--Below crumbled in the sixth, losing the strike zone and looking tired through his delivery. That his future is in the bullpen seems given, and I'm curious why the Tigers haven't already moved him there with an eye toward fast tracking him to the major leagues. You might have heard that the Tigers have had some bullpen issues.
It's a shame that Justin Wilson pitched so well and has nothing to show for it; after getting rocked early, his last two starts he's started to show the promise that had people excited about him. I should be seeing him again Wednesday against the helpful Senators lineup.
One more thing before I go: The score was 1-0 after eight innings. I'm sure Matt Walbeck had a good reason to leave Corey Hamman in for the ninth, but I don't know what it was; Hamman was tired after two innings and Mike Dubee was fresh. Hamman struck two SeaWolves out anyway, but mixed that with hitting Mike Beltram in the head (he was okay) and walking glove man Cale Iorg on four pitches. Then Dubee entered and picked up where Hamman left off, walking Shawn Roof, who frankly couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, on five pitches, three of them in the dirt, loading the bases, and then yielding the world's most predictable two-run single on a 3-1 count to Jeff Burrus.
Now, suppose the Curve had scored two runs in the ninth inning. Final score, 3-2, Erie. Which pitcher do you think is the Losing Pitcher? Corey Hamman, who put the team in a jam? Or Mike Dubee, who walked the #9 hitter and allowed a two-run single? I'm sure you know the 'correct' answer is C: Justin Wilson, who pitched six dominant innings. Apparently it's his fault that (a) the hitters didn't hit until the ninth inning, and (b) the bullpen gave up a couple runs. The rulebook says, if you leave trailing and the team never regains the lead, you get the loss, period.
Well, you're smart, so you immediately see the problem there. Wins is a stat designed in the 19th century, when a pitcher not finishing a game he started was extremely unusual, even if the game went 16 innings. The statistic has been obsolete now for 30 years. There are a few sensible ways it could be tweaked--I wrote up one myself last year that I like--but there are two problems:
(a) We've been recording Wins and Losses exactly the same way for 120 years now, and nobody's anxious to change their definition now.
(b) Even if we improved it, it still wouldn't be terribly useful. Just quote the guy's ERA and strikeout/walk ratio, and you'll do much better at describing his work's quality than any wins-losses system will.
Therefore, I suggest the wisest course is to retire the statistic. Actually, I suspect it would already be on its way to extinction if not for fantasy baseball usually incorporating it. So start there: suggest to whatever fantasy league you're in that situations like last night happen all the time, that they're grossly unfair to the real players and to fantasy teams, and therefore your league should ditch wins-losses and use something else.
Justin Wilson pitched a fantastic game in the BCB last night, going 6 innings with 7 strikeouts, yielding only 2 walks and 3 hits. He gave up one run in the top of the first on a double by Cesar Nicolas, and then wiped Erie out for the following five innings. That's the good news.
The bad news is, that one run was all Erie needed.
They scored two more off Corey Hamman and Mike Dubee in the top of the ninth, just to be sure, but Brooks Brown finished what Dwayne Below started and the Curve were shut out for the first time this season, 3-0.
Dwayne Below entered this game 1-3 with an ERA north of 5, so I was expecting to see a shootout, something like 9-6. Instead I was treated to the best pitchers' duel I've seen so far in 2010. Below was especially impressive. Working with a slightly odd delivery with a straight overhand arm slot, a low-90s fastball and a curveball, Below dominated Altoona hitters for five innings. The most impressive thing about Below was, the man pounded the strike zone. Strike after strike after strike after strike, and these were hardly meatballs; the Curve couldn't hit him. Below opened the game with nine straight strikes, and at another point threw 12 straight strikes.
In the Eastern League, that's a revelation; I don't think I've ever seen a pitcher crank out strikes like that at the BCB before, except a couple of the uber-prospects like Matusz. There are pitchers that have superb control, but walk four or five batters a game anyway because their stuff isn't very good and they have to nibble around the corners and try to get hitters to swing at stuff outside the strike zone.
Below also--and this is very rare in AA ball--threw his curve for strikes, over and over. Now, that will get you killed in the major leagues unless you're Bert Blyleven, but a pitcher who can fire strikes like that and aim his curveball is a pitcher worth watching. Below is 24, old for AA ball, but I suspect if his arm holds together you might see him pitching well in a major league bullpen near you within a year or two.
I say bullpen because, despite throwing only 63 pitches over 5 innings--amazing how you can keep your pitch count down when you throw strikes--Below crumbled in the sixth, losing the strike zone and looking tired through his delivery. That his future is in the bullpen seems given, and I'm curious why the Tigers haven't already moved him there with an eye toward fast tracking him to the major leagues. You might have heard that the Tigers have had some bullpen issues.
It's a shame that Justin Wilson pitched so well and has nothing to show for it; after getting rocked early, his last two starts he's started to show the promise that had people excited about him. I should be seeing him again Wednesday against the helpful Senators lineup.
One more thing before I go: The score was 1-0 after eight innings. I'm sure Matt Walbeck had a good reason to leave Corey Hamman in for the ninth, but I don't know what it was; Hamman was tired after two innings and Mike Dubee was fresh. Hamman struck two SeaWolves out anyway, but mixed that with hitting Mike Beltram in the head (he was okay) and walking glove man Cale Iorg on four pitches. Then Dubee entered and picked up where Hamman left off, walking Shawn Roof, who frankly couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, on five pitches, three of them in the dirt, loading the bases, and then yielding the world's most predictable two-run single on a 3-1 count to Jeff Burrus.
Now, suppose the Curve had scored two runs in the ninth inning. Final score, 3-2, Erie. Which pitcher do you think is the Losing Pitcher? Corey Hamman, who put the team in a jam? Or Mike Dubee, who walked the #9 hitter and allowed a two-run single? I'm sure you know the 'correct' answer is C: Justin Wilson, who pitched six dominant innings. Apparently it's his fault that (a) the hitters didn't hit until the ninth inning, and (b) the bullpen gave up a couple runs. The rulebook says, if you leave trailing and the team never regains the lead, you get the loss, period.
Well, you're smart, so you immediately see the problem there. Wins is a stat designed in the 19th century, when a pitcher not finishing a game he started was extremely unusual, even if the game went 16 innings. The statistic has been obsolete now for 30 years. There are a few sensible ways it could be tweaked--I wrote up one myself last year that I like--but there are two problems:
(a) We've been recording Wins and Losses exactly the same way for 120 years now, and nobody's anxious to change their definition now.
(b) Even if we improved it, it still wouldn't be terribly useful. Just quote the guy's ERA and strikeout/walk ratio, and you'll do much better at describing his work's quality than any wins-losses system will.
Therefore, I suggest the wisest course is to retire the statistic. Actually, I suspect it would already be on its way to extinction if not for fantasy baseball usually incorporating it. So start there: suggest to whatever fantasy league you're in that situations like last night happen all the time, that they're grossly unfair to the real players and to fantasy teams, and therefore your league should ditch wins-losses and use something else.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Apparently I'm Benedict Arnold.
There's some kind of rule around western Pennsylvania that you're not allowed to criticize anybody who plays for our team, even if he's not very good at his job.
Marc-Andre Fleury seems like a nice guy, a fun guy. I wouldn't mind throwing back a few with him. Everyone says he works hard. I don't doubt it.
It's just, he's not very good.
Marc-Andre Fleury seems like a nice guy, a fun guy. I wouldn't mind throwing back a few with him. Everyone says he works hard. I don't doubt it.
It's just, he's not very good.
Important Series Against Erie. Also: Toys.
The Curve lost a heartbreaker in Richmond today, 2 to 1 in 11 innings, Ronald Uviedo taking a tough loss after six strong innings from Derek Hankins and three innings of shut-down relief from Tony Watson. Even so, they wrap up their road trip 5-2, having swept the woeful Senators (and handing Stephen Strasburg his first professional loss) and earned a four-game split in the road against the second-place Richmond Flying Squirrels.
'Richmond Flying Squirrels' is the greatest team name in professional sports today. There will be no argument about this.
Tomorrow night I'll be at the BCB--and you should be, too--as the boys return home and host the irritating Erie SeaWolves, who are presently four and a half games behind us and have been playing us tough all year. Not two weeks ago, Erie came to the BCB and took three out of four from the Curve. Hopefully, we can take two of three from them this time around, before the user-friendly (and now Strasburg-less) Senators come to town.
Tomorrow night is the Webkinz giveaway; they're giving the damned toys to the first 1,500 kids age 14 and under. I don't know how they determine who's 14 and who's 15, but I presume the interns handing out the toys will give them to whoever looks reasonably young. A fight over whether so-and-so is really only 14 when she looks 18 doesn't really make anybody happy. Kid number 1,501 might wish they'd demanded to see a birth certificate back when suspected 18-year-old 'kid' number 682 came through, but s/he won't be nearly as angry as number 682 and whoever she's with. Public scenes are bad for business.
Of course, though official attendance figures are always in the low 2,000s, I doubt I've been to a game yet where more than 1,000 people were in the park. (I missed Strasburg's pro debut.) Then again, the last time the Curve played at home, game time temperature was about 45 degrees and the wind was blowing hard. Tomorrow night it will be sunny and in the high 60s. Believe you me: 2,000 kids will show up for the damned toys tomorrow night. I would expect around 4,000 people in total. The gates open at 5:20; I will be certain to be there at 5:10. There are few things in life I like less than traffic jams, so I'd rather get to the park very early and commence with my usual routine of writing, reading, watching warmups, and very probably eating a funnel cake. (I have become the master of eating a funnel cake without messing up my black suit. Don't try this at home, kids.)
Justin Wilson is scheduled to pitch tomorrow night. The last time I saw him, Erie chased him in the third inning after he walked six batters and gave up four runs; Wilson has been the weak link on the pitching staff so far, and has especially struggled to find the strike zone. He did pitch a lot better last Sunday, going four innings, three walks, one run as he and Mike Dubee combined to outduel Stephen Strasburg. Of course, that was Harrisburg. This is Erie. Erie can rake.
'Richmond Flying Squirrels' is the greatest team name in professional sports today. There will be no argument about this.
Tomorrow night I'll be at the BCB--and you should be, too--as the boys return home and host the irritating Erie SeaWolves, who are presently four and a half games behind us and have been playing us tough all year. Not two weeks ago, Erie came to the BCB and took three out of four from the Curve. Hopefully, we can take two of three from them this time around, before the user-friendly (and now Strasburg-less) Senators come to town.
Tomorrow night is the Webkinz giveaway; they're giving the damned toys to the first 1,500 kids age 14 and under. I don't know how they determine who's 14 and who's 15, but I presume the interns handing out the toys will give them to whoever looks reasonably young. A fight over whether so-and-so is really only 14 when she looks 18 doesn't really make anybody happy. Kid number 1,501 might wish they'd demanded to see a birth certificate back when suspected 18-year-old 'kid' number 682 came through, but s/he won't be nearly as angry as number 682 and whoever she's with. Public scenes are bad for business.
Of course, though official attendance figures are always in the low 2,000s, I doubt I've been to a game yet where more than 1,000 people were in the park. (I missed Strasburg's pro debut.) Then again, the last time the Curve played at home, game time temperature was about 45 degrees and the wind was blowing hard. Tomorrow night it will be sunny and in the high 60s. Believe you me: 2,000 kids will show up for the damned toys tomorrow night. I would expect around 4,000 people in total. The gates open at 5:20; I will be certain to be there at 5:10. There are few things in life I like less than traffic jams, so I'd rather get to the park very early and commence with my usual routine of writing, reading, watching warmups, and very probably eating a funnel cake. (I have become the master of eating a funnel cake without messing up my black suit. Don't try this at home, kids.)
Justin Wilson is scheduled to pitch tomorrow night. The last time I saw him, Erie chased him in the third inning after he walked six batters and gave up four runs; Wilson has been the weak link on the pitching staff so far, and has especially struggled to find the strike zone. He did pitch a lot better last Sunday, going four innings, three walks, one run as he and Mike Dubee combined to outduel Stephen Strasburg. Of course, that was Harrisburg. This is Erie. Erie can rake.
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