Rodriguez can play just about any position on the diamond, and it makes sense for the Pirates to go out and get a guy that can do this becuase their previous super utility player will now be playing 3rd base full time, that is Josh Harrison. Hopefully Rodriguez can do something similar to what Harrison did last year. It will be interesting to see how the Buccos utilize Rodriguez's talents this upcoming season.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Another Acquisition: Sean Rodriguez
The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired super utility player Sean Rodriguez from the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later. Rodriguez hit a mere .211 last year, but his value is more than what his batting average reads.
Rodriguez can play just about any position on the diamond, and it makes sense for the Pirates to go out and get a guy that can do this becuase their previous super utility player will now be playing 3rd base full time, that is Josh Harrison. Hopefully Rodriguez can do something similar to what Harrison did last year. It will be interesting to see how the Buccos utilize Rodriguez's talents this upcoming season.
Rodriguez can play just about any position on the diamond, and it makes sense for the Pirates to go out and get a guy that can do this becuase their previous super utility player will now be playing 3rd base full time, that is Josh Harrison. Hopefully Rodriguez can do something similar to what Harrison did last year. It will be interesting to see how the Buccos utilize Rodriguez's talents this upcoming season.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Justin Wilson traded to the Yankees
On Novmeber 12th the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they have yet again acquired another Yankees catcher. This time, it is Francisco Cervelli. They got him for a deal with the Yankees straight up for lefty relif pitcher Justin Wilson.
Before Cervelli, it was Russell Martin (now with Toronto) and Chris Stewart who have both performed very well for the Pirates, so hopefully Cervelli can continue that trend.
Wilson will definitley be missed, as would any lefty pitcher that can run it up to 97-98 mph, but he did struggle last year posting a 4.20 era with 30 walks in 60 innings. Cervelli hasn't been able to put together a full seasons worth of games because of injuries and suspensions, so it will be interesting to see what he can do to help the Pirates this upcoming season.
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| Former Yankees catcher and now Pirates catcher, Francisco Cervelli photo courtsey of: pittsburghsportingnews.com |
Before Cervelli, it was Russell Martin (now with Toronto) and Chris Stewart who have both performed very well for the Pirates, so hopefully Cervelli can continue that trend.
Wilson will definitley be missed, as would any lefty pitcher that can run it up to 97-98 mph, but he did struggle last year posting a 4.20 era with 30 walks in 60 innings. Cervelli hasn't been able to put together a full seasons worth of games because of injuries and suspensions, so it will be interesting to see what he can do to help the Pirates this upcoming season.
Position Report Card: Closing Pitcher
This post will be short, sweet, and too the point. Any Pittsburgh Pirate fan should like Mark Melancon. Not only is he dominant on the mound, but he is a great person off the field. On the field, Melacon attacks the strike zone with he 90-93 mph cutter. He took over for Jason Grilli as the Pirates closer when Grilli was traded to the Angels. He struggled at first, which is to be expected with a player taking on a new role, but he then found his own and competed as one of the top closers in the National Lague the rest of the way.
Melancon finsihed the season with a great 1.90 era in 71 innings pitched. He converted 33 of his 37 save attempts, good for an 89.2%. Known for his control, Melanco only had 11 walks giving him an incredible .87 WHIP. WHIP is the statistic that basically tells you how many baserunners the pitcher allows per inning. Anything under one is great.
***Overall Grade B+
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| Pirates closer Mark Melanco photo courtsey: piratesprospects.com |
Melancon finsihed the season with a great 1.90 era in 71 innings pitched. He converted 33 of his 37 save attempts, good for an 89.2%. Known for his control, Melanco only had 11 walks giving him an incredible .87 WHIP. WHIP is the statistic that basically tells you how many baserunners the pitcher allows per inning. Anything under one is great.
***Overall Grade B+
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Position Report Card: Relif Pitcher
Today I am going to focus on relif pitchers, but not the closer, stay tuned for my take on the Pirates 9th inning situation in my next post. Middle relievers, or 'bridge' guys are very important to have as a ball club. I have a little bit of experience with this position myself as well. This summer I was the 8th inning guy for the Mat-Su Miners of Palmer, Alaska in the Alaska Baseball League.
This year's bridge or set-up guys for the Buccos were lefties Tony Watson and Justin Wilson as well as righty ground ball specialist Jared Hughes. It was a new thing in 2014 for these guys becuase Mark Melancon (the current closer) had that role last year while former Pirate and current Angel Jason Grilli was in charge of the 9th inning.
Tony Watson had an incredible career year in 2014. He was selected to represent the Pirates in the All-Star Game which is extremly rare for a middle reliever. Watson racked up 77 1/3 innings pitched while holding a 1.63 era. He also only surrendered 64 hits in those innings while striking out 81 batters. A very, very soild 8th inning guy.
Justin Wilson came back down to earth this year after a great 2013 season. Although he will not get a chance to retain form with the Pirates, as he was traded to the Yankees this offseason. The Yankess are going to be very pleased with the young flamethrowing lefty. I think he will definitley succeed in the AL East. Wilson ended the year with a 4.20 era. His problem was with the strike zone. He walked 30 batters in 60 innings pitched, which is not good.
Lastly is Jared Hughes. I have always liked Hughes, he is a ground ball pitcher like myself. He pitches with a lot of passion and it was great to see him really come into his own and succeed this year. Hughes had an impressive 1.96 era in 64 1/3 innings pitched this year.
***Overall Grade B+
This year's bridge or set-up guys for the Buccos were lefties Tony Watson and Justin Wilson as well as righty ground ball specialist Jared Hughes. It was a new thing in 2014 for these guys becuase Mark Melancon (the current closer) had that role last year while former Pirate and current Angel Jason Grilli was in charge of the 9th inning.
Tony Watson had an incredible career year in 2014. He was selected to represent the Pirates in the All-Star Game which is extremly rare for a middle reliever. Watson racked up 77 1/3 innings pitched while holding a 1.63 era. He also only surrendered 64 hits in those innings while striking out 81 batters. A very, very soild 8th inning guy.
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| Pirates pitcher Tony Watson photo courtsey: mlb.com |
Justin Wilson came back down to earth this year after a great 2013 season. Although he will not get a chance to retain form with the Pirates, as he was traded to the Yankees this offseason. The Yankess are going to be very pleased with the young flamethrowing lefty. I think he will definitley succeed in the AL East. Wilson ended the year with a 4.20 era. His problem was with the strike zone. He walked 30 batters in 60 innings pitched, which is not good.
Lastly is Jared Hughes. I have always liked Hughes, he is a ground ball pitcher like myself. He pitches with a lot of passion and it was great to see him really come into his own and succeed this year. Hughes had an impressive 1.96 era in 64 1/3 innings pitched this year.
***Overall Grade B
Position Report Card: Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitching is very, very important for any club if they hope to be successful over the course of a 162 game season. For this post, I am going to focus on three of the Pirates starting pitchers this year, but factor all of the starters throughout the course of the year for the final grade.
Gerrit Cole, Edison Volquez, and Charlie Morton will be the three pitchers that I will breakdown for this post. This is a good variety because this year Cole was dominant, Volquez surprised us all, and Morton was inconsistent.
Gerrit Cole is a solidified ace, and the undoubted #1 of the Pirates pitching staff. He has electric stuff with a 95+ mph fastball, a good slider, and a nast change-up. This year, Cole went 11-5 with a 3.65 era, averaging 1 strikeout/inning with 138 in 138 innings pitched. Cole suffered from the injury bug a bit this year, otherwise he would have had more innings pitched.
Edison Volquez was the surprise of the Pirates staff this year. Arguably the Bucs most consistent arm, Volquez went 13-7 with a team leading 3.04 era in a team leading 192.2 innings pitched. In my opinion Volquez should have won comeback player of the year this season, but the voters must have thought otherwise.
Lastly is Charlie Morton. I 've said for the past few years the Morton has the best pitches on the team, and I still firmly believe that. He just suffers from wildness and bad fielding with all the ground balls he gets at times. Morton went 6-12 this season despite having a respectable 3.72 era. This just shows the lack of run support Morton recieves. Morton also suffered from the injury bug this year, spending some time on the disabled list with a hip injury. He was still able to compile 157.1 innings pitched though.
Overall, I give the Pirates starting pitching an ***A. Thier pitching coach Ray Searage is a mastermind and he continues to get the most out of lackluster names. The Pirates had quite a number of injuries this year and they were able to mange that as well. I t will be interesitng to see if they can once angain do it next year.
Gerrit Cole, Edison Volquez, and Charlie Morton will be the three pitchers that I will breakdown for this post. This is a good variety because this year Cole was dominant, Volquez surprised us all, and Morton was inconsistent.
Gerrit Cole is a solidified ace, and the undoubted #1 of the Pirates pitching staff. He has electric stuff with a 95+ mph fastball, a good slider, and a nast change-up. This year, Cole went 11-5 with a 3.65 era, averaging 1 strikeout/inning with 138 in 138 innings pitched. Cole suffered from the injury bug a bit this year, otherwise he would have had more innings pitched.
Edison Volquez was the surprise of the Pirates staff this year. Arguably the Bucs most consistent arm, Volquez went 13-7 with a team leading 3.04 era in a team leading 192.2 innings pitched. In my opinion Volquez should have won comeback player of the year this season, but the voters must have thought otherwise.
Lastly is Charlie Morton. I 've said for the past few years the Morton has the best pitches on the team, and I still firmly believe that. He just suffers from wildness and bad fielding with all the ground balls he gets at times. Morton went 6-12 this season despite having a respectable 3.72 era. This just shows the lack of run support Morton recieves. Morton also suffered from the injury bug this year, spending some time on the disabled list with a hip injury. He was still able to compile 157.1 innings pitched though.
Overall, I give the Pirates starting pitching an ***A. Thier pitching coach Ray Searage is a mastermind and he continues to get the most out of lackluster names. The Pirates had quite a number of injuries this year and they were able to mange that as well. I t will be interesitng to see if they can once angain do it next year.
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| Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage (left) with Pirates picher Edison Volquez (right) photo courtsey of the Bradeton Herald |
Monday, November 10, 2014
Position Report Card: Right Field
Right field was another position that the Pittsburgh Pirates were a let down in 2014. You are never going to have a great deal of success when a position's playing time is split between 2 or even 3 people, yet that is what the Pirates did in this situation.
Travis Snider, Gregory Polanco, and even a little bit of Josh Harrison sprinkled in was what the Buccos right field was made up of this past season.
Snider began the season in extremly underwhelming fashion. There was even speculation that he would be designated for assignment when they were thinking about calling up Polanco, but that was not the case. Maybe that was what lit a fire under Snider, but whatever it was he actully ended up putting up some fairly respectable numbers across the board. Snider hit 13 homes runs, had 38 runs batted in, and hit at an avergae of .264 in 140 games played. He also excelled as a pinch-hitter.
Polanco was supposed to be a savior for the Pirates. A highly talented rookie this year with still an enermous amount of potential, but it just didn't all click for him this year. We all saw flashes of his talent, but overall he was just a little too inconsistent at the plate going on long stretches without recording a hit. Polanco ended the year with a line of 7 home runs, 33 runs batted in, and a very low .235 batting average.
Combining those numbers, the 2 primary right fielders for the Bucs hit 20 homes runs and batted 71 runs, while not hitting for any kind of average. Not horrible numbers, but definitley not great by any stretch of the word. This is defintiley and area that needs improvement for continued success for the Pirates in 2015.
Overall Grade: C+
Travis Snider, Gregory Polanco, and even a little bit of Josh Harrison sprinkled in was what the Buccos right field was made up of this past season.
Snider began the season in extremly underwhelming fashion. There was even speculation that he would be designated for assignment when they were thinking about calling up Polanco, but that was not the case. Maybe that was what lit a fire under Snider, but whatever it was he actully ended up putting up some fairly respectable numbers across the board. Snider hit 13 homes runs, had 38 runs batted in, and hit at an avergae of .264 in 140 games played. He also excelled as a pinch-hitter.
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| Travis Snider pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates phot courtsey of Snider's twitter account |
Polanco was supposed to be a savior for the Pirates. A highly talented rookie this year with still an enermous amount of potential, but it just didn't all click for him this year. We all saw flashes of his talent, but overall he was just a little too inconsistent at the plate going on long stretches without recording a hit. Polanco ended the year with a line of 7 home runs, 33 runs batted in, and a very low .235 batting average.
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| Gregory Polanco photo courtsey of pittsburghpirates.com |
Combining those numbers, the 2 primary right fielders for the Bucs hit 20 homes runs and batted 71 runs, while not hitting for any kind of average. Not horrible numbers, but definitley not great by any stretch of the word. This is defintiley and area that needs improvement for continued success for the Pirates in 2015.
Overall Grade: C+
Position Report Card: Center Field
Well this one should be easy. As any and all Pittsburgh Pirates fans know, they have one of the best not only center fielders in the game, but players in general in Andrew McCutchen.
McCutchen won the 2013 National League Most Valuable Player Award, and after finsishing 3rd in the race this past year, that gives him 3 straight top 3 finishes dating back to 2012. McCutchen's impressive numbers this year were as follows: 25 home runs, 83 runs batted in, .314 batting average, and an incredible .410 on-base percentage in a total of 146 games played.
It can be argued that Andrew McCutchen is the heart, soul, and reason that the Pittsburgh Pirates are now a respectable franchise around Major League Baseball. If not for McCutchen, I think that the Pirates would not only have not made the playoffs, but they would still be continuting to their North American Professional Sports record of 20+ consecutive losing seasons.
Along with being an incredible offensive player, McCutchen is way above average patrolling center field for the Pirates, with a gold glove award already added to his resume.
Overall Grade: A+
McCutchen won the 2013 National League Most Valuable Player Award, and after finsishing 3rd in the race this past year, that gives him 3 straight top 3 finishes dating back to 2012. McCutchen's impressive numbers this year were as follows: 25 home runs, 83 runs batted in, .314 batting average, and an incredible .410 on-base percentage in a total of 146 games played.
It can be argued that Andrew McCutchen is the heart, soul, and reason that the Pittsburgh Pirates are now a respectable franchise around Major League Baseball. If not for McCutchen, I think that the Pirates would not only have not made the playoffs, but they would still be continuting to their North American Professional Sports record of 20+ consecutive losing seasons.
Along with being an incredible offensive player, McCutchen is way above average patrolling center field for the Pirates, with a gold glove award already added to his resume.
Overall Grade: A
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| Photo courtsey of stellcitybuzz.com |
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Position Report Card: Left Field
Starling Marte was not the only person to play left field for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, but he was their primary left fielder, so we're going to focus on him for this position report card.
Starling Marte, who now has 2 full seasons under his belt for the Pirates, enjoyed his best year to date this season, having career best numbers in many offensive categories. Marte set career marks for hits (144), doubles (29), home runs (13), runs batted in (56), walks (33), batting average (.291), on-base percentage (.356), slugging percentage (.453), and OPS (.808). Marte also improved slightly in areas of his game that need some work. He decreased his strikeouts and caught stealings in 2014.
Overall, Marte's talent is still very raw. He is only 25 years old and his game is only going to keep improving. Marte has the ability to become a 30 home run and 30 stolen base kind of player in the near future. If that is indeed the case, the Buccos are going to be in great shape at one of the most important positions on the diamond.
***Overall Grade: B
Starling Marte, who now has 2 full seasons under his belt for the Pirates, enjoyed his best year to date this season, having career best numbers in many offensive categories. Marte set career marks for hits (144), doubles (29), home runs (13), runs batted in (56), walks (33), batting average (.291), on-base percentage (.356), slugging percentage (.453), and OPS (.808). Marte also improved slightly in areas of his game that need some work. He decreased his strikeouts and caught stealings in 2014.
Overall, Marte's talent is still very raw. He is only 25 years old and his game is only going to keep improving. Marte has the ability to become a 30 home run and 30 stolen base kind of player in the near future. If that is indeed the case, the Buccos are going to be in great shape at one of the most important positions on the diamond.
***Overall Grade: B
Position Report Card: First Base
Next on the list of position report cards for the Pittsburgh Pirates is the first base position, where time was split primarily between Gaby Sanchez and Ike Davis this year. For the past couple of seasons, the Pirates have played the match-up game when deciding who to run out their to first base. So this year if their opponent was throwing a left-handed pitcher, the Pirates would use Sanchez, a right-handed batter, and if they faced a right-handed pitcher, Davis would get the start, being a left-handed batter.
This worked out as well as you would think giving two guys limited reps, and never letting a single guy find his rhythm at the plate.... Not very well.
Gaby Sanchez, who has been with the Bucs for the past 2 1/2 years now, struggled this year at the plate. He hit only .229 with 7 home runs and 33 runs batted in. These are very wea numbers all around for a player that appeared in 123 games this season.
Ike Davis performed better than Sanchez, although still no where near great. Davis, who was traded over from the New York Mets this season, hit .235 with 10 home runs and 46 runs batted in. Davis had a very good eye at the plate. He worked 57 base on balls to bring his on-base percentage to a solid .343
It will be interesting to see if the Pirates make any additions to the first base position this off season, or if they decide to again go with the matchup game.
***Overall Grade: C-
This worked out as well as you would think giving two guys limited reps, and never letting a single guy find his rhythm at the plate.... Not very well.
Gaby Sanchez, who has been with the Bucs for the past 2 1/2 years now, struggled this year at the plate. He hit only .229 with 7 home runs and 33 runs batted in. These are very wea numbers all around for a player that appeared in 123 games this season.
Ike Davis performed better than Sanchez, although still no where near great. Davis, who was traded over from the New York Mets this season, hit .235 with 10 home runs and 46 runs batted in. Davis had a very good eye at the plate. He worked 57 base on balls to bring his on-base percentage to a solid .343
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| Gaby Sanchez (left) and Ike Davis (middle) photo cred: cityofchampionssports.com |
It will be interesting to see if the Pirates make any additions to the first base position this off season, or if they decide to again go with the matchup game.
***Overall Grade: C-
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Position Report Card: Second Base
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| Neil Walker at his alma malter, Pine Richland photo cred: pinerichland.org |
Although he battled injuries for a part of the 2014 season, Walker enjoyed his best season of his career both offensively and defensively. If it wasn't for getting hurt, Walker would have been an All-Star selection this season. Walker hit a solid .271 with an impressive 23 home runs and 76 runs batted in. Along with the great offensive output, Walker made only 5 errors in a whopping 630 chances, giving him a .992 fielding percentage. Walker also showed a great improvement with his range this year, surprising us as fans time-after-time with some great game changing plays.
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| photo cred: espn.com |
***Overall Grade: B+
Position Report Card: Shortstop
The next position that will be examined in the post-season position report cards for the Pittsburgh Pirates will be shortstop. Shortstop is one of the most crucial positions in all of baseball, and the Pirates have been pretty weak here in the recent past.
This year's shortstop was primarily Oklahoma St. product, Jordy Mercer, with a little bit of Clint Barmes mixed in as well. Mercer provided the offense from the position, while Barmes' main role was as a defensive specialist. Although most casual baseball fans probably couldn't tell you who Jordy Mercer or Clint Barmes is, they did a fine enough job this year for the Bucs.
After a very shaky first couple of months of the season for Mercer where he was batting in the .100's, he figured it out and became of of the most productive National League shortstops over the rest of the year. Mercer ended the year hitting .255 with 12 home runs and 55 runs batted in. Mercer was also extremely durable, playing in 149 of 162 total games this past year. Mercer has room to improve defensively in 2015 though, he committed 11 errors this year giving him a .982 fielding percentage.
Clint Barmes played in only 48 games in 2014, his lowest total since his 2007 campaign in Colorado. His numbers were not great either. He batted .245 with 0 home runs and just 7 runs batted in. His fielding percentage was not normal of Barmes either. He fielded at just a .975%. Barmes is a free agent this off season, don't look for the Pirates to re-sign him.
So if you throw out a month or two worth of at-bats for Mercer, the offensive numbers produced by Pirates shortstops this season would be pretty good, unfortunately that's not how it works. So below average numbers at the plate and shaky defense do not help this grade.
***Overall Grade: C
This year's shortstop was primarily Oklahoma St. product, Jordy Mercer, with a little bit of Clint Barmes mixed in as well. Mercer provided the offense from the position, while Barmes' main role was as a defensive specialist. Although most casual baseball fans probably couldn't tell you who Jordy Mercer or Clint Barmes is, they did a fine enough job this year for the Bucs.
After a very shaky first couple of months of the season for Mercer where he was batting in the .100's, he figured it out and became of of the most productive National League shortstops over the rest of the year. Mercer ended the year hitting .255 with 12 home runs and 55 runs batted in. Mercer was also extremely durable, playing in 149 of 162 total games this past year. Mercer has room to improve defensively in 2015 though, he committed 11 errors this year giving him a .982 fielding percentage.
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| Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, Jordy Mercer photo cred: baseballnewssource.com |
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| Clint Barmes photo cred: zimbio.com |
***Overall Grade: C
Monday, October 20, 2014
Position Report Card: Third Base
The Pittsburgh Pirates had one of the more interesting 3rd base situations in all of baseball in 2014, but in the end it worked out better than anyone could have imagined.
Pedro Alvarez, a 2013 All-Star selection, National League home run leader, and 2014 starting 3rd baseman not only lost his job to Josh Harrison in 2014, but we may have seen him play his last inning in a Pirate uniform. From an offensive standpoint the numbers were not terrible. Alvarez hit .231 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in, in 122 games. The problem was in the field. Alvarez has always been a below average 3rd baseman defensively, but this year was the worst to date. The Pirates even tried moving him to 1st base because Alvarez got to the point where he was no longer able to make an accurate throw across the diamond to 1st base. Alvarez averaged about an error every 4 games, finishing the year with 25 errors in 99 games played at 3rd base.
So if Alvarez had such a dissapointing 2014 season, how the the Pirates manage to make their way to the postseason for a 2nd consecutive year? The answer to that question is Josh Harrison. Harrison was arguably the best story of the year in all of baseball. He basically came out tof nowhere and became an All-Star right in front of our eyes. Harrison has been with the Pirates for 4 years now, but before 2014 he never played in more than 104 games and his primary role was as a utility player, fillling in for players who needed a day off or to provide a spark. Harrison is an NL MVP candidate, finishing the year 2nd in the NL batting race with a .315 average, 13 home runs, 52 runs batted in, and 18 stolen bases. Not to mention Harrison was very solid defensively at 3rd base. He had 3 errors in 72 games at the hot corner for a .984 fielding percentage. Harrison found a home at 3rd base with Alvarez's struggles, but Harrison also played left and right field, shortstop, and 2nd base. Without Harrison's career year, the Pirates would not have had a successful season like they did.
It may not have been the way that they drew it up, but the Pirates couldn't have asked for better numbers from a 3rd baseman than what Harrison provided them with. It will be interesting to see if he can have a repeat performance in 2015, but regardless he deserves a shot to do so with the Pirates at 3rd base next year.
***Overall Grade: A+
Pedro Alvarez, a 2013 All-Star selection, National League home run leader, and 2014 starting 3rd baseman not only lost his job to Josh Harrison in 2014, but we may have seen him play his last inning in a Pirate uniform. From an offensive standpoint the numbers were not terrible. Alvarez hit .231 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in, in 122 games. The problem was in the field. Alvarez has always been a below average 3rd baseman defensively, but this year was the worst to date. The Pirates even tried moving him to 1st base because Alvarez got to the point where he was no longer able to make an accurate throw across the diamond to 1st base. Alvarez averaged about an error every 4 games, finishing the year with 25 errors in 99 games played at 3rd base.
So if Alvarez had such a dissapointing 2014 season, how the the Pirates manage to make their way to the postseason for a 2nd consecutive year? The answer to that question is Josh Harrison. Harrison was arguably the best story of the year in all of baseball. He basically came out tof nowhere and became an All-Star right in front of our eyes. Harrison has been with the Pirates for 4 years now, but before 2014 he never played in more than 104 games and his primary role was as a utility player, fillling in for players who needed a day off or to provide a spark. Harrison is an NL MVP candidate, finishing the year 2nd in the NL batting race with a .315 average, 13 home runs, 52 runs batted in, and 18 stolen bases. Not to mention Harrison was very solid defensively at 3rd base. He had 3 errors in 72 games at the hot corner for a .984 fielding percentage. Harrison found a home at 3rd base with Alvarez's struggles, but Harrison also played left and right field, shortstop, and 2nd base. Without Harrison's career year, the Pirates would not have had a successful season like they did.
It may not have been the way that they drew it up, but the Pirates couldn't have asked for better numbers from a 3rd baseman than what Harrison provided them with. It will be interesting to see if he can have a repeat performance in 2015, but regardless he deserves a shot to do so with the Pirates at 3rd base next year.
***Overall Grade: A+
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Position Report Card: Catcher
The Pittsburgh Pirates have seem to have found a good thing when it comes to acquiring former New York Yankees. First there was AJ Burnett, then Russell Martin, and this year was Chris Stewart.
So both of the Pirates catchers this year were former Yankees, and they both seem to like it in Pittsburgh. Russell Martin excelled in his first season in Pittsburgh last year, but was even better this year, putting up MVP like numbers. Chris Stewart had one of his best years of his career. He hit close to .300 (.294), playing in about a third of the games this season.
Russell Martin will probably win a gold glove this year for being the best defensive catcher in the National League, but not only that, he had an on-base percentage of over .400 (.402). His best quality although is one that cannot be measured by statistics. He is a great veteran presence on and off the field, he manages the pitching staff extremely well, and he is undoubtedly the heart and sole leader of the Pirates. If this was indeed his last season in Pittsburgh, then he is going to be truly missed withing the organization and by fans all over Pittsburgh.
The position of backup catcher might be the most undervalued position in all of baseball. Finding a catcher that can fill in for the starter about every third day, handle the pitching staff, and play well both offensively and defensively is about as difficult as it sounds, but the Pirates did just that this year in the form of Chris Stewart. Stewart hit .294 in 49 games, and held a solid .991 fielding percentage (3 errors).
The only area for improvement where both Martin and Stewart were lacking was in the power department. Martin finished the year with 11 home runs, and Stewart did not hit 1. Stewart also only had 5 doubles the entire year. Other than that there are no complaints.
***Grade: A-
So both of the Pirates catchers this year were former Yankees, and they both seem to like it in Pittsburgh. Russell Martin excelled in his first season in Pittsburgh last year, but was even better this year, putting up MVP like numbers. Chris Stewart had one of his best years of his career. He hit close to .300 (.294), playing in about a third of the games this season.
Russell Martin will probably win a gold glove this year for being the best defensive catcher in the National League, but not only that, he had an on-base percentage of over .400 (.402). His best quality although is one that cannot be measured by statistics. He is a great veteran presence on and off the field, he manages the pitching staff extremely well, and he is undoubtedly the heart and sole leader of the Pirates. If this was indeed his last season in Pittsburgh, then he is going to be truly missed withing the organization and by fans all over Pittsburgh.
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| Russell Martin photo cred: www.steelcitybuzz.come |
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| Chris Stewart photo cred: espn.com |
***Grade: A-
Sunday, October 12, 2014
MVP?
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| Clayton Kershaw, will he win the MVP in 2014? photo cred: thegurdian.com |
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| Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates CF photo cred: espn.com |
VS.
What a year it was for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Realistically, the Pirates have three legitimate Most Valuable Player candidates for the National League, and it should surprise nobody if after all the votes have been counted Andrew McCutchen, Russell Martin, and Josh Harrison all finish in the top-10 for the race.
Andrew McCutchen CF, and the reigning NL MVP:
Hit .314 in 146 games this past year with an on-base percentage of .410, for a slugging percentage of .952. Hit 25 balls out of the park this year and drove in 83, while stealing 18 bases. I would say that it is pretty much down to him and LA Dodger's pitcher, Clayton Kershaw to take home the award.
Who do you think will bring home the MVP hardware this year?
Who do you think will bring home the MVP hardware this year?
Time To Move On
Well, its been almost two weeks since that game that we'd all like to forget. The game where the San Francisco Giants crushed the Pirates hopes and dreams of a championship with an 8-0 beat down, and for anybody that is still sulking, sad, or even refused to watch baseball because the Pirates are eliminated, stop and cheer up. There is some great baseball being played in the American and National League Championship Series.
The feel-good story of the Kansas City Royals, a team a lot like the Pirates, are currently up 2 games to none on the American League East Champion Baltimore Orioles. So there is a team to root for right there.
Also the Giants, yes those Giants, are up 1 game to zero on the Pirates bitter rival the St. Louis Cardinals. It would be a pretty good thing to see the Giants win becuase as a Pirate fan you could say your team lost to the best team left, and it goes without saying, its alwyas a good thing to see the Cardinals lose.
So in conclusion... Cheer up Pirate fans, life goes on
The feel-good story of the Kansas City Royals, a team a lot like the Pirates, are currently up 2 games to none on the American League East Champion Baltimore Orioles. So there is a team to root for right there.
Also the Giants, yes those Giants, are up 1 game to zero on the Pirates bitter rival the St. Louis Cardinals. It would be a pretty good thing to see the Giants win becuase as a Pirate fan you could say your team lost to the best team left, and it goes without saying, its alwyas a good thing to see the Cardinals lose.
So in conclusion... Cheer up Pirate fans, life goes on
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| A depressed Pittsburgh fan (don't let this be you) photo cred: espn.com |
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Better Luck Next Year
Pittsburgh Pirates fans are going to have to wait another year to see if their team can win a championship. The Pirates season ended on Wednesday with an 8 to 0 shellacking put on them by Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants
A definite positive to take from this season for Pirate fans is that they have now recorded winning records and made it to the postseason for 2 consecutive years, after a North American Sports record 20 straight losing seasons from 1992 to 2012. So it seems the Pirates have made the jump and are here to stay when it comes to being competitive.
So one question remains... Where do they go from here? The Bucs are heading into a very tough off-season where some of their key contributors from the 2014 seasons will be becoming free agents.
- Catcher - Russell Martin
- Shortstop - Clint Barmes
- Pitcher - Edinson Volquez
- Pitcher - Francisco Liriano
The Pirates off-season is going to be extremely important, as well as interesting, and definitely one to pay attention to over the next few months. It will be exiting to see what happens.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Buctober Is Here
October is upon us, and for sports fans everywhere that means one thing, playoff baseball. For Pittsburgh Pirate fans, the wait is over, and game day is finally here. The Pirates play the San Francisco Giants in a loser goes home elimination game Wednesday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
The Pirates will be sending 31 year old right-hander Edison Volquez (13-7, 3.07) to the mound tonight to oppose Ginats' ace, 25 year old southpaw Madison Bumgarner (18-10, 2.98). With two pitchers of this caliber going tonight, a low scoring affair can be expected. To beat the Giants and advance to the National League Division Series, the Pirates are going to need Volquez to continue what he has been doing the last 3+ months of the season. Since June 23rd, Volquez has won 9 games while only losing 1 and holding an earned run average of only 1.85, which was good enough for the second lowest in the National League during that span.
So Volquez is definitley the key for the Pirates on the defensive side of the game, but who is going to step up at the plate for the Bucs tonight?
The obvious answer to that question is guys like Andrew McCutchen, Russell Martin, and Josh Harrison, who are all going to need to play well in order for the Piraes to advance, but I believe the game is going to come down to something like an Ike Davis long at-bat working the count for an important walk, or a Jordy Mercer clutch 2 out RBI knock.
In a perfect world Edison Volquez goes 7 innings tonight while allowing 1 or 2 runs, hands the ball over to All-Star Tony Watson in the 8th, and then Melancon to close the door for the save in the 9th, but this is postseason baseball and anything can happen. That's the beauty of it though, anyone can be the hero. The only thing that is certain is that it will be fun to watch.
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| Just like in 2013, tonight will be another black-out at PNC Park photo cred: pittsburghpirates.com |
The Pirates will be sending 31 year old right-hander Edison Volquez (13-7, 3.07) to the mound tonight to oppose Ginats' ace, 25 year old southpaw Madison Bumgarner (18-10, 2.98). With two pitchers of this caliber going tonight, a low scoring affair can be expected. To beat the Giants and advance to the National League Division Series, the Pirates are going to need Volquez to continue what he has been doing the last 3+ months of the season. Since June 23rd, Volquez has won 9 games while only losing 1 and holding an earned run average of only 1.85, which was good enough for the second lowest in the National League during that span.
So Volquez is definitley the key for the Pirates on the defensive side of the game, but who is going to step up at the plate for the Bucs tonight?
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| Pittsburgh Pirates star Andrew McCutchen photo cred: pittsburgpirates.com |
In a perfect world Edison Volquez goes 7 innings tonight while allowing 1 or 2 runs, hands the ball over to All-Star Tony Watson in the 8th, and then Melancon to close the door for the save in the 9th, but this is postseason baseball and anything can happen. That's the beauty of it though, anyone can be the hero. The only thing that is certain is that it will be fun to watch.
***Prediction
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Welcome
Hello everyone,
My name is Ryan Oglesby. I am a senior communications major at Slippery Rock University. I am a pitcher on the baseball team here at Slippery Rock and I have been playing all of my life. I am from Pittsburgh, Pa, and have been a huge Pittsburgh Pirates fan all of my life.
Bucco Babble is a blog all about the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over the next couple of months, I will be sharing with you my thoughts on the rest of the Pirates regular season, their playoff run, a year in review report card of each position, offseason stories and moves, and anything else that pops up along the way.
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| Ryan Oglesby (myself) pitching for Slippery Rock University |
My name is Ryan Oglesby. I am a senior communications major at Slippery Rock University. I am a pitcher on the baseball team here at Slippery Rock and I have been playing all of my life. I am from Pittsburgh, Pa, and have been a huge Pittsburgh Pirates fan all of my life.
Bucco Babble is a blog all about the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over the next couple of months, I will be sharing with you my thoughts on the rest of the Pirates regular season, their playoff run, a year in review report card of each position, offseason stories and moves, and anything else that pops up along the way.
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| PNC Park |
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