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Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Chad Ochoseis Jun 06 2016 10:13 PM

Welcome to your Pittsburgh Pirates. They hit. They walk. They lead the league in OBP. Not many of those guys score once they get on base, as they’re not big in the power department once you get past Andrew McCutchen. And their pitching? Well, Jonathan Niese is the best starting pitcher we’ll be seeing on our brief trip to the Steel City. So… At first base, we have plucky John Jaso, former walk-on from a junior college in California. I vaguely recall this guy played for the Oakland A’s. Here’s how he got on his college team: "I ended up taking BP (batting practice), and they saw I swang left-handed, and it was 'Let's get this guy on the team.'" Yep, he swang left-handed. And now he’s swanging for the Pirates, often in the leadoff spot. A former catcher who runs like one, he’s not your typical leadoff guy. But the one thing he does well is get on base against righties (.372 this year). He suxx against lefties, so we may be seeing utility guy Sean Rodriguez at first tonight against Matz. At second base is third baseman Josh Harrison. Hits well, fields well, even at his new position. Not much else to say about him. I salute you, Josh Harrison, in solidarity with short, bearded guys everywhere. At shortstop, there’s Jordy Mercer. He gets on base a lot. I’m having a really hard time finding anything interesting to say about these guys and I’m on a deadline here. At third base is some guy who also gets on base a lot, I think. Yes, it’s Jung-Ho Kang, KBO phenom. He got Tejadaed in the knee last September and was out of commission until about a month ago, but he’s been playing pretty good ball since, with a home run in each of his last two games. Behind the plate is well-known douchebag Francisco Cervelli, who is also – wait for it – getting on base a lot (.366 OBP). He’s returning from being hit by a pitch Thursday. A breaking pitch. Feel free to comment on his toughness below. The outfield. Is it the best outfield in the majors this year, or is it the best outfield ever??? Neither, probably, though it’s not bad. Andrew McCutchen looked like he was starting to come around, but is 3 for his last 17 and hitting .250 for the season. Gregory Polanco is picking up the slack in right field; at .308/.391/.557, he’d probably be getting some All-Star votes if the Pirates drew any outside media attention (the Altoona Mirror doesn’t count). Starling Marte is the reigning Gold Glover in left and, yes, gets on base a lot (.370 this season). The pitching? You know about Jon Niese, who is on one of his occasional streaks where he starts to trick people into thinking he’s good. So let’s score a run against him early and watch him give Jordy Mercer his whiny face and then blow the game. Juan Nicasio is eh. Allegedly has great stuff, and Ray Searage thinks he can fix him. Still, eh. Francisco Liriano has had some flashes of greatness in his career, but on the whole hasn’t been very good at baseball since 2006, when he turned himself into Exhibit A on why teams keep close tabs on rookie pitchers’ pitch counts today. He was expected to be the #2 pitcher behind Gerrit Cole this year, but has an ERA of 5.25. Can bad hitting beat bad pitching? Let’s hope so. The bullpen is solid. Setup man Tony Watson has been giving up runs lately (at least one in each of his last three appearances) and small sample size lovers have been clamoring for Neftali Feliz, he of the 2.61 ERA in 20 2/3 innings. Yankee reject Mark Melancon has become possibly the best closer in the majors without anyone noticing. This year, 1.93 ERA, 17 saves

Edgy MD Jun 07 2016 01:39 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Sterling Marte, besides being a great place to buy your silver wholesale, is probably their hottest hitter and probably their best overall until Andrew McCutcheon turns it around. Jonathon Niese, who had a superhero nickname for the Mets before it was cool, is joined in the Cult of Familiarity by manager Clint Hurdle, who switched between left and right with Rusty Staub in the funnest game the Mets and Pirates have ever played; pitching coach Ray Searage, the only Met with a 1.000 winning percentage and a 1.000 batting average; and bench coach Dave Jauss, who coached some mean bench with the Mets back in 2010 before transferring to "coordinator of staff development" in 2011, which I took to mean that he organized retreats and such. 40-Man roster reserve Josh Bell once tried to kill me with a line drive while playing for the Bowie Baysox. I'm still not sure how I dodged that ball. I suspect it phased right through me. It was Superhero Night at the ballpark, so perhaps I was super-powered just for the duration of the ballgame.

Chad Ochoseis Jun 07 2016 02:15 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Yeah, I never did get around to researching old Pirates now on the Mets and Pirates who once sailed in Flushing Bay. The Mets' lone reformed Pirate, besides Neil Walker, is Antonio Bastardo. I have no memory of him being anything but a Phillie, but bbref tells me he played for Pittsburgh last year. Also, Terry started his baseball career in 1971 in the Pirate org.

Frayed Knot Jun 08 2016 09:04 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

So what is it with these Pirates? Mets have lost nine straight against them, 11 of the last 12, and 17 of 22 The last win came on 6/28/14 (Niese won it, Mejia saved it, and Eric Campbell got 3 hits). That same game also represents the only time in the last 12 NYM-Pitt games were the Mets have scored more than 3 runs. In fact the Mets have scored 3 or fewer in 18 of these last 22 games going back to early 2013. And, yeah, the Buccos during the past three-plus seasons have been relatively good teams (.575 winning pct) but not that good and are currently about an average pitching team and we're missing their ace in Gerrit Cole. Meanwhile the Pirates have beaten every pitcher in the Mets current rotation as the not-too-shabby stable of Colon, Syndergaard, Harvey, Niese, Parnell (10th inning), Gilmartin (14th), Parnell again, and now Matz & deGrom have been the losing pitchers during the nine-game streak. Niese gets the odd distinction of being both a winning and losing pitcher during the current run.

Chad Ochoseis Jun 08 2016 10:07 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Without checking too much, I think the Mets just happen to draw them when the A-lineup is particularly weakened. Here's the lineup we ran out there on May 24 last year: Granderson, RF Flores, SS Cuddyer, 1B Murphy, 2B Mayberry, LF Recker, C Ceciliani, RF Tejada, 3B Niese, P Nuff said? Even in August when a Céspedes-enhanced team was swept, it looks like Wright and Duda were out. And the Parnell experiment was still on (the 2015 incarnation doesn't qualify as "not too shabby") - he lost two of the three August games.

cooby Jun 09 2016 01:42 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Just reading this. Good job! We watch the pirates a lot. Why don't you like cervelli? Just wondering A lot of Pirate pregame devoted to welcoming Neil walker. Very nice.

Edgy MD Jun 09 2016 02:01 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Cervelli, Baldelli, Mazzilli. cooby loves a good Italian name.

cooby Jun 09 2016 02:52 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Lol. Yeah I do

Chad Ochoseis Jun 09 2016 03:30 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

cooby wrote: Why don't you like cervelli? Just wondering He just always seemed to be the yankiest of Yankees when he was here. He's probably no worse than most other jocks, but yankeeness breeds contempt.

Frayed Knot Jun 09 2016 04:28 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Cervelli is a very fist-pumping demonstrative type of player who can be very annoying if he's on the opposition. Even Ron Darling mentioned during the telecast that he's the kind you like if he's on your own team but don't if he's not, this came after he whined about a ball/strike call for about the 9th time in the game last night.

themetfairy Jun 09 2016 05:32 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Cervelli always makes think of fusilli. And that makes me crave pasta. So fuck him for making me want to eat extra carbs!

cooby Jun 09 2016 05:38 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Chad Ochoseis wrote: cooby wrote: Why don't you like cervelli? Just wondering He just always seemed to be the yankiest of Yankees when he was here. He's probably no worse than most other jocks, but yankeeness breeds contempt. I see! I did not realize he had been a Yankee. His Pirate's "lovelorn advice" seems to indicate he speaks no English. I wonder if I'm thinking of the wrong guy.

Edgy MD Jun 09 2016 05:46 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

He's a Venezuealan native born to an Italian immigrant father and a Venezuealan mother.

cooby Jun 09 2016 05:52 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Yep, and I googled it, and it is indeed him dishing out advice.

Chad Ochoseis Jun 13 2016 05:17 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

I'm spending the day doing volunteer work for my professional society in Las Vegas (which is a strange place to put a bunch of actuaries). I won't have time to update the KTE - if anyone knows of any updates, feel free to post them here. Gerrit Cole last pitched on June 10, so we'll probably see him this series.

Lefty Specialist Jun 13 2016 07:11 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Cole probably won't pitch. Right triceps tightness. Jameson Taillon, who pitched pretty well against them last week, is the likely substitute.

Frayed Knot Jun 13 2016 08:26 PM Re: Pirates KTE 6/6-6/8

Yeah, Cole walked off the mound after two innings and 35 pitches on Friday and is almost certain not to pitch in this series, meaning we will have missed him both times this year. MLB.com's sked has Pitt listed as TBD for all three games, facing deGrom, Syndergaard & Colon. The last five games they played were with Nicolino, Locke, Cole, Liriano, & Niese. They don't play today either so they could conceivably go with Nicolino, Locke, and Liriano without having to revert to short rest. James Taillon was sent down after we saw his one and only ML start in the last series although certainly could be brought back if Cole is DL'd. Also missing from last series is starting catcher Francisco 'Fist Pump' Cervelli, DL'd with a broken hand. The Buccos even had to trade w/Anaheim for former Philly backup Eric Kratz to fill his spot and swap with Chris Stewart