Paul Maholm took another one on the chin Sunday.  He pitches well enough to win almost every time he takes the mound.  Unfortunately for Paul, he is a Pittsburgh Pirate.  Being a Pirate pitcher means that if you give up a run in the first five innings, there is a good chance you will take the loss in the end.  Simply put, the Pirate offense cannot generate any run support, especially when Maholm is pitching.

Sunday vs Houston, Maholm pitched seven strong innings, scattering eight hits, walking two and giving up only one earned run in losing to Houston, 2-1.  The guy has a 3.82 ERA and a 3-2 record.  Can you imagine what kind of numbers he could put up with a good offense? 

This whole scenario didn’t just creep up this year either.  In 2008, he went 9-9, but his ERA was still under 4 runs per game, and he had 13 no decisions. 

To give you an idea of just how bad the Pirate offense really is, they got their 29th quality start this season when Maholm was tagged with the loss on Sunday.  In those 29 quality starts, the Pirates only have 23 wins.

If ever there was a gem in the rough, it is Paul Maholm and the undeserved mediocrity he receives thanks to a shaky set of batters on his team.

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