Pittsburgh Pirates

In my life I have attended many more major league games than minor league ones, but 2010 will be a chance for me to experience the minors like never before.  I will be working in media relations for the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League.  The Mud Hens are the Triple-A affiliate of the Tigers and play at Fifth Third Field, just an hour from Detroit, which means that Tigers on rehab assignments will likely make cameo appearances throughout the season.

Continue reading "Next stop in my baseball career – ..."

While researching ballplayers of the nineties, I discovered that in 1993, Jeff King of the Pirates drove in 98 runs while hitting only nine home runs and slugging just .406.  I then wondered if any player has ever driven in 100 runs with fewer than 10 homers or with a slugging percentage under .400.  Upon further investigation, I found that in 1996 – the year he turned 40 during the Dog Days of August – Paul Molitor hit just nine homers but accumulated 113 RBI’s while playing for the Twins.  Thanks to his American League-leading 225 hits and batting two hitters behind leadoff man Chuck Knoblauch in the midst of his best season (.448 OBP), Molitor led the Twins in both hitting (.341) and Runs Batted In.  I have yet to find a player with a season of 100+ RBI’s despite a slugging percentage under .400 (Molitor’s was a healthy .468), but I will continue searching.

Continue reading "Run production and slugging: not ..."

Last week I saw Andy Pettitte throw six and two-thirds innings of perfect baseball at against the Orioles at Camden Yards.  With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Adam Jones hit a ground ball to third.  Alex Rodriguez was getting the night off, and his replacement at the hot corner, Jerry Hairston, booted it.  Having grown up an Orioles fan and somewhere along the way developing into a Yankee-hater, one might think I would have been rooting for the Birds to end Pettitte’s bid for perfection; however, this was not so.  As a fan of the game, I wanted to witness history.  Sure; I would have preferred seeing an Oriole pitcher throw a perfecto (though even a shutout by one of this year’s starters would have been historic), but I can’t expect miracles.

Continue reading "Nobody’s perfect"

Cliff Lee was meant to pitch for the Phillies.  How else do you explain his ridiculous string of starts since joining the team last month?  In five games, Lee has a 5-0 record, a 0.75 WHIP, and a 0.68 E.R.A.  In 40 innings, he has struck out 39 batters and walked just six, surrendered a grand total of zero home runs, and looked like a true ace while averaging eight innings per start.  As if he weren’t contributing enough already, Lee is hitting .313, which, if it were over enough at-bats to qualify, would lead the team.  The southpaw has truly made the most of his time in the City of Brotherly Love.

Continue reading "Cliff Lee: Philly Fave"

Since I last posted before my trip to Spain, there have been a number of noteworthy occurrences in Major League Baseball.

The American League won yet another All-Star Game – by a single run for the fourth year in a row.  Manny Ramirez returned from his 50-game suspension.  The Nationals fired manager Manny Acta.  Jonathan Sanchez threw the season’s first no-hitter.  The Braves gave up on underachieving hometown boy Jeff Francouer, and traded him to the Mets for Ryan Church, who hit the foul ball I caught at RFK in 2007.  The most exciting news, however, took place the day I returned from my voyage: Mark Buerhle of the White Sox threw a perfect game.  The following day, the A’s traded slugger Matt Holliday to the Cardinals, who now have protection for Albert Pujols.

Continue reading "While I was out…"

   Pittsburgh Pirates Mid-Season Analysis

     I moved to Western Maryland a couple of weeks ago and this is part of my ongoing attempt to learn about the sports interests here.  Baseball-wise it’s the Pirates, Orioles, and Nationals, and I wanted to get into the one with the best current chance of a playoff push.  The Nats are obviously out and the Orioles are 14 games behind first in a ridiculously hard division, so that leaves the Pirates, a tantalizing Homer-pick at 9.5 behind in the absurdly mediocre NL Central.  On paper it looks possible that any team could take it, and I hoped that statistical analysis would show some obscure Pirates advantage that could take them over the top, but I just can’t find it.  I’m not saying that an X-factor doesn’t exist, just that anyone who claims there is one is obviously from Pittsburgh.  In fact, this team so cries for the use of the “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” comparison that I spent ten whole minutes looking up how I could work it in.  And here it is:  Mario Brega, who played Cpl. Wallace, the big cross-eyed prison guard in the film who beat up Tuco to get the name of the cemetery the money was buried in for Angel Eyes ,died 15 years ago this month.  So to honor his memory, here’s a breakdown of the Pirates in the spirit of that great film (I resisted using a corresponding pirate-based ranking system, i.e.; Avast Ye Maties, Walk the Plank, and Totally Somalian because even I have standards).

Continue reading "Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Break Analysis"

Someone at MLB must have read my blog post from 5/9/08 and decided that All-Star voting needed to start even earlier this season just to see my reaction.  Keep in mind that the 2009 season began later than the 2008 season.

Continue reading "All-Star balloting reminds me of the Iowa Caucus"

Every playoff contender in baseball seems to be calling the Pittsburgh Pirates, looking for an upgrade for their playoff push. The Pirates have numerous players that interest those contenders, in this article we’re going to talk about five of those guys. Those that have been drawing the most interest are Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, Jack Wilson, John Grabow and Damaso Marte.

Continue reading "The Pittsburgh Swap Market"

March 6th, 1964.

Tom O'Hara of Illinois finished the indoor mile in under four minutes 44 years ago today.

Yikes!

Myself, I keep an eight-minute pace and I've never just tried to race a mile. It might be an interesting undertaking, if you're into punishment from the pavement like myself anyhow.

Continue reading "This Date in History: Tom O'Hara ..."