Posts Tagged ‘Pittsburgh Pirates’

In what can only be described as a weird thought, Joel Hanrahan could have been the first player in major-league baseball history to win and lose the same game. If Hanrahan had been traded to Houston instead of Pittsburgh, the oddest scenario ever could have been played out.

 The Astros and Nationals have to finish a suspended game tomorrow. The game is tied 10-10 after ten and a half innings.  Joel Hanrahan pitched the top of the 11th for Washington without giving up a run.  He is in line to get the win if Washington could scratch out a run in the bottom half.  The game was then suspended before Washington got to bat.

Here is where it gets tricky…  Had Houston acquired Hanrahan instead of Pittsburgh and put him on the mound in the bottom of the 11th and Hanrahan gives up a run.  He would have been the winning pitcher for Washington and the losing pitcher for Houston.

However, it will not happen as Pittsburgh continues to run a flea market for the rest of MLB.

Just saying though, how weird would that have been?

I still remember watching many of Evel Knievel’s jumps live when they happened.  I do not remember seeing this particular jump so I thought I would share it with you guys.  If Knievel didn’t do what he did, would there be any X-Games?

• Bootlegger Sports has Lance Armstrong screwing up at the Tour de France.  No, it wasn’t a banned substance, he forgot to sign in.
• Steady Burn presents the return of zombie kickball.
• NESW Sports finds Ron Artest paying tribute to Michael Jackson with a horrible rap song (video).
• Babes Love Baseball posted a John Kruk cartoon video.  Check out the post called Alright Dude, Let’s Get Wasted.
• My Sports Rumors predicts there will be some more Indians on the move soon.  Which ones do you think? 
• Motown String Music finds Rasheed Wallace agreeing to a deal with the Boston Celtics.
• Fansided has the scoop on a Pittsburgh Pirates trade rumor, as they try hard to look stupider than Cleveland this season.

Living halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland can really suck sometimes.  The Pirates have been down and out for so many year that there are no expectaions anymore.  The Indians recently threw in the towel by trading Mark DeRosa.  The Pirates can’t be accused of throwing in the towel, but have sent their big offseason free agent signing, Eric Hinske (above) to the hated Yankees.  Sigh… C’mon football season, get here.

• Babes Love Baseball offered to make out with Tim Lincecum for his fine efforts in pitching the Giants to a blowout win over the Cardinals.
• PacMan Jonesin‘ found that Washington Redskin Chris Cooley likes to burn dead cows in his spare time.
• Sports Rubbish presents Welcome to Wimbledon, feel free to park on the dead.
• In Game Now found a story about the Raiders sponsoring planes, Air Asia planes, that do not even fly to America.
• Zoner Sports takes out all of the steroid users of baseball and presents a brand new all-time home run leaders list.
• Hugging Harold Reynolds finds Jay Mariotti bashing bloggers from a journalist point of view.
• PSAMP has India’s reality show winners Rinku and Dinesh, awarded minor league Pirate contracts, ready for live action.
• The Fifth Corner finds Tar Heel Garrett Reynolds signing with the Atlanta Falcons.
• Style Points breaks the news that 106 sportswriters have tested positive for sanctimony.
• Bear Goggles On thinks that with the passing of Billy Mays that the new infomercial king will be none other than Mike Ditka.

Kerry Wood is having a bumpy ride in his first season as a Cleveland Indian.  The former Cubs closer has really been struggling as of late.  Over the weekend, Wood blew two saves against his former Cubs team in his return to Chicago.  Last night, Pittsburgh almost rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the 9th inning to put an exclamation point on how terrible the Indians bullpen is this season.

In his last four appearances, Wood has pitched three innings, given up six hits, three walks, four earned runs and blown two saves.  His ERA over those four games is 12.00, and his overall ERA is currently at 5.68.  These are not the numbers expected when paying someone $21 million.

So what happens?  I believe Wood will be headed to the DL soon.  History is on my side.  I don’t know of any report of injury to Wood at all, but if he blows another save this week, expect his back to ache just to get him cooled off a bit. 

The Indians bullpen obviously is horrible.  No lead is ever safe, regardless of the size of the lead.  I have watched the starters consistently turn in good performances only to play roulette with a group of pitchers who struggle every single time they are called upon.

Wood is the least of the bullpen problems as bad as he has been lately, and that is a pretty sad but true statement.  I can recall at least seven games this season already, when the Indians had at least a three-run lead after five innings and have lost the game.

Eric Wedge needs to go.  He is bringing in the wrong pitchers in the wrong situations and has had zero luck finding a cork for the leaky dam we call the Indians bullpen.  The bullpen, and Wood in particular, need to step it way up and do a better job for the next manager.  Wedge downplayed last nights almost tragic collapse and said, “Wood got the last out and that’s what matters most.”  Wrong Eric, what matters most is the fact that Wood should not have even been used in the game and that you have serious problems behind the fence in your bullpen.

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.

Every once in the while, an athlete dies before he is done building on the positive legacy they have worked a lifetime to achieve.  Roberto Clemente was taken away from his family, the game of baseball, and the millions he reached out to before his time should have been up.  Few athletes cared about kids, about the human race, or world affairs like Clemente did.  Major League Baseball should pray for someone with this kind of attitude and natural ability to come along.  Let it be said, let it be written… There will only ever be one Roberto Clemente.

Roberto Clemente was born in Puerto Rico in 1934.  He grew up playing baseball and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1954.  Clemente played 18 seasons, all with Pittsburgh.  He was a 12-time All-Star selection and won The MVP in 1966.  He also won 12 golden gloves and won the NL batting title four times.  He was named the 1971 World Series MVP.  I can go on-and-on about his onfield accomplishments but the other side of Roberto Clemente needs discussed.

Clemente was very active in his charity work for Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries.  He often financed trips out of the money he made to provide baseball equipment and food to areas in need.  On December 31, 1972, the plane Clemente was traveling to Nicaragua in to provide food to earthquake victims crashed and Clemente was pronounced dead.  His body was never recovered.  In 1973, the Hall of Fame voted Clemente in posthumously, meaning the mandatory 5-year waiting period was waived.  To this day, Clemente is the only baseball player who did not have to wait five years to get in.  He was also the first Latin American elected to the Hall of Fame.

In his honor, Major League Baseball annually presents the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player who is a great humanitarian.  He was also inducted into the Marine Corps Hall of Fame.

The right field wall at PNC Park is 21′ high in tribute to Clemente.

Few athletes in our time would have cared less about their next commercial or endorsement.  Few would have been courageous enough to get into a small plane for 16 hour rides to pass out food and supplies they paid for.  Thanks for the memories Roberto Clemente, there will never be another like you. 

Big weekend in sports, a longshot wins the Kentucky Derby, the Celtics and Bulls wrapped up what may have been the greatest series ever, baseball, hockey, and Manny Pacqiauo smacked Ricky Hatton like a bug.  Please check out these great stories from other sites!

Dallas Cowboy Practice Facility Collapses: Video * Sports Rubbish
Carl Crawford: The Straw That Stirs The D-Rays * Josh Q. Public
US Congress: Stay The Hell Out Of College Football * Moondog Sports
Two Saints With Odd Names Get Busted * Zoner Sports
Goalie Jaroslav Halak Gets Slashed In Head By Teammate * Total Pro Sports
MLB All-Time All Defensive Team * Sports2Debate
Could Andre Miller Be Wearing A Blazer Jersey Next Season? * Hoop Doctors
Cavs and Celtics Should Win East Semis * FOX Sports
Penguins And Caps Resume Series Tonight * Hockey, Hot Chicks, And Somewhere In Between
BCS = Communism * Hugging Harold Reynolds
Second Round NBA Playoff Predictions * A Stern Warning
Detroit Lions Impressed By Matt Stafford * My Sports Rumors
Indians News And Notes * Tribe Daily
Denise Richards Looks Good But Sounds Bad * Sharapova’s Thigh
Hockey Playoff Videos Of The Day * The Program
Adult Swim Hates The Pittsburgh Pirates * PSAMP

Busy week in the world of sports and the NFL Draft fast approaching.  Here are some friends to catch you up.  Please check out these stories!!!

5 Multi-Sport Athletic Failures * In Game Now
Cat Runs Around At Wrigley Field During Cubs Game * Sports Rubbish
David Stern & NBA Owners Briefed By CEO * Hoop Doctors
Athletes Who Are Twittering * Sports Fan Live
Top-10 Things We Learned In The Forst Week Of The NHL Playoffs * Total Pro Sports
Pricey Seats At new Yankee Stadium Bomb * Fox Sports
2009 NFL Mock Draft * Gators First
Mike Brown Is The NBA Coach Of The Year * Blaze Of Love
Shiver Me Timbers: It’s The Pittsburgh Pirates * Josh Q. Public
Cavs – Pistons Game 2 Recap * Talk Hoops
Interview With UFC’s Stephan Bonner * Zoner Sports
NHL Video Highlight Of The Day * The Program
Browns Will Probably Pass On Crabtree * Cleveland.com
D Wade’s Cell Phone # * NESW Sports
Pittsburgh Steelers Sneak Peak At Sixth Ring * PSAMP

Thanks for stopping by and checking out these great stories!

Congratulations to this years National Champion, North Carolina.  The game was a blowout from the outset and the Tar Heels made it look easy.  Here are some links with further NCAA coverage as well as other great stories from my esteemed colleagues.

Where They Stand :The 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates * Sharapova’s Thigh
Who Had The Best Dunk Of The Tournament? * Intentional Foul
Please Don’t Put Big Ben On The Cover Of Madden 2010 * PSAMP
MLB: How’s This For Openers? * Josh Q. Public
Poking Fun At Jay Crawford of ESPN’s Hair * NESW Sports
Boxer Gives Himself An Uppercut * Total Pro Sports
Miss America 2009 Butchering National Anthem At Phillies Opener * Sports Rubbish
Top 10 Signs You May Not Be A Good GM * Hoop Doctors
Michael Jordan Leads 2009 Hall Of Fame Class * Docksquad
What A Waste of Three Hours – UNC is #1 * Ed The Sports Fan
Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin Headed To NBA Draft * FOX Sports
Final Four For The Best Sports Blog Name * Zoner Sports
Fantasy Hockey 101: The Final Week * The Program
Is Lebron Receiving Preferential Treatment? * Baller Blogger

Take a look, click on a link, and let the author know what you think.

I conducted my interview with Jack Loew, the trainer of Kelly Pavlik earlier today and will have video footage up hopefully by the end of the week.

Here are some stories from other great sites!

In Like A Lamb, Out Like A Tiger * Josh Q. Public
Blake Griffin Is Too Cool For School * Total Pro Sports
The Final Four: Who Will Win It All? * Sports2Debate
Minor League Baseball Team Offers “Gassy” Promotion * Zoner Sports
Examining The Indians Competition: Minnesota Twins * Sharapova’s Thigh
Lebron James Pregame Homerun Video, What’s Next Shaq? * NESW Sports
Why Jamie Dixon Won’t Leave Pitt * PSAMP
Indians Send Trevor Crowe Packing * Deep Left Field
The 10 Ugliest Uniforms of The 1970’s * Fantasy Pros 911
Andrew McCutchen Sent To The Minors * BUCCO Fans

Enjoy These Great Stories!