I'll let this joker break it down for you:
This guy is a fan of the Pirates and he thinks they are only a 60 win, 102 loss, ball club. The only pitchers on the entire Pirates staff he has anything nice to say about are Olhendorf (whom he predicts will have more no decisions than wins) and Matt Capps. He also thinks that Doumit and McClouth are the only position players worth a shit. Sad outlook, but understandable after 16 consecutive losing seasons.
Anyways, I am sure the Cardinals will find a way to give away 1 or 2 games in the series. Duke and Olhendorf are 1-3 against the Cardinals, with their only win coming on April 8th. Jeff Karstens, Thursday's starter, hasn't faced the Cardinals, but he has been fairly crappy so far this season. Whatever the case, the Cardinals need to perform well in this series to build some momentum for a weekend series against the Brewers, followed by three against the Cubs (all 6 at Busch).
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in Pittsburgh. GO CARDS!!
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Pirates. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Break It Down! April 9th Edition
The Pitchers:
- Cardinals: The good news: Former Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter says he is healthy and he only allowed 4 runs during the Spring. The bad news: The 4 runs Carp allowed were all in his last start. Oh, also, Carpenter is basically (considered?) as fragile as a faberge egg. (Four starts over the past two seasons.) Soooooooo, is there anything to be said here? Sure. When Chris Carpenter is at his best, he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Over the past three years (read: in 2006), Carp was 4 - 0 against the Pirates in 4 starts with a 0.90 ERA. Russ likes. Still, no idea what to expect from Carp tomorrow. He may be terrific and he may be Wellemeyer-esque. No idea.
- Pirates: Who is Ross Ohlendorf? I have no idea who this person is. I did a double-take when I read the name. What I have been able to learn from the various sources I consult (Ouija board, tea leaves, etc.), is that this fella is a starting pitcher who throws the baseball with his right hand. In addition, Ohlendorf "is known for his hard-biting sinker," "[h]e can hit 97 mph with a two-seam sinking fastball," and "he's working to improve his developing changeup, slider, and breaking ball." I haven't really got any idea what most of this means. What I do know is that this dude has 5 career starts and a 6.35 ERA. The Cardinals can hit him, right? *GULP*
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Since no one on the Cardinals has ever had an at bat against Ohlendorf I will just assume that Pujols (surprise!) will be the man today. That means Schumaker and Rasmus (most likely them, anyway), need to get on base in front of him. Joe Thurston may also get a start on account of his two doubles yesterday, but you never know, really, with all of Tony's lineup machinations. Since the Cardinals play 14 straight games to start the season, and today is a day game, Tony may also sit someone - but that would piss me off since it is only the 4th game of the season.
- Pirates: Can we PLEASE keep Nyjer Morgan and Brandon Moss off the basepaths? They have 7 of the Pirates runs in the series. Freddie Sanchez and Jack Wilson have done most of the rest of the damage, with 14 hits and 8 RBI. These are just a few of the names the Cardinals should be concerned about, since the Pirates enjoyed 17 hits yesterday.
Splitting this series is okay, I guess. It is the best we can hope for at this point. *Sigh*
Oh, also, GO ROGER EBERT!
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
- Cardinals: The good news: Former Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter says he is healthy and he only allowed 4 runs during the Spring. The bad news: The 4 runs Carp allowed were all in his last start. Oh, also, Carpenter is basically (considered?) as fragile as a faberge egg. (Four starts over the past two seasons.) Soooooooo, is there anything to be said here? Sure. When Chris Carpenter is at his best, he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Over the past three years (read: in 2006), Carp was 4 - 0 against the Pirates in 4 starts with a 0.90 ERA. Russ likes. Still, no idea what to expect from Carp tomorrow. He may be terrific and he may be Wellemeyer-esque. No idea.
- Pirates: Who is Ross Ohlendorf? I have no idea who this person is. I did a double-take when I read the name. What I have been able to learn from the various sources I consult (Ouija board, tea leaves, etc.), is that this fella is a starting pitcher who throws the baseball with his right hand. In addition, Ohlendorf "is known for his hard-biting sinker," "[h]e can hit 97 mph with a two-seam sinking fastball," and "he's working to improve his developing changeup, slider, and breaking ball." I haven't really got any idea what most of this means. What I do know is that this dude has 5 career starts and a 6.35 ERA. The Cardinals can hit him, right? *GULP*
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Since no one on the Cardinals has ever had an at bat against Ohlendorf I will just assume that Pujols (surprise!) will be the man today. That means Schumaker and Rasmus (most likely them, anyway), need to get on base in front of him. Joe Thurston may also get a start on account of his two doubles yesterday, but you never know, really, with all of Tony's lineup machinations. Since the Cardinals play 14 straight games to start the season, and today is a day game, Tony may also sit someone - but that would piss me off since it is only the 4th game of the season.
- Pirates: Can we PLEASE keep Nyjer Morgan and Brandon Moss off the basepaths? They have 7 of the Pirates runs in the series. Freddie Sanchez and Jack Wilson have done most of the rest of the damage, with 14 hits and 8 RBI. These are just a few of the names the Cardinals should be concerned about, since the Pirates enjoyed 17 hits yesterday.
Splitting this series is okay, I guess. It is the best we can hope for at this point. *Sigh*
Oh, also, GO ROGER EBERT!
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Break It Down! April 8th Edition
The Pitchers:
- Cardinals: Todd Wellemeyer was garbage in the Spring. How bad was he? 17 runs in his last 20 IP of the Spring. That bad. Still, and you know this, Wellemeyer is a gamer. Also, Wellemeyer was 3 - 0 against Pittsburgh in 5 starts last year with a 3.45 ERA. Nothing to write home about, but not Zach Duke-ian either (see below). Long story short, the Pirates have never really knocked Wellemeyer around, and I don't expect them to do so tonight.
- Pirates: Remember back in 2005 when Zach Duke wasn't entirely crappy? He was 8 - 2 as a midseason call-up and he was anointed the Pirates ace heading into 2006. That was a long time ago. Since 2005 his career has followed roughly the same arc as Britney Spears' career. Last year Duke was 5 - 14 with an abysmal 4.82 ERA. Two of those losses were handed to him by the Cardinals, who battered Duke for 8 runs in 12 IP. If you have any reason to believe Duke will perform well against the Cardinals tonight, please post it in the comments.
NOTE: Zach Duke is so awful that when I did a Google Video Search for "Zach Duke" this was the 4th result (for those of you who can't view it, it's a video of a kid named Zach and his dog, Duke; 61 views):
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Duke (Zach, not the dog), awful though he is, throws the baseball with his left hand. I therefore assume the lineup will look pretty similar to Monday's (Ryan at 2B, Barden at 3B). Pujols (surprise!), Molina, Ankiel, and Ludwick have all had some success against Duke. I thirst for runs, and I expect them.
- Pirates: Ryan Doumit is the only Pirate with notable success against Wellemeyer (5-for-11 with a tater and 2-bagger). Still, until this Nyjer Morgan leaves town I am going to keep a close eye on him, just as the Cardinals should.
Finally, if you haven't read Keith Olberman's homage to his recently departed mother, then you must. For those of us who are sports fans, who have a parent who taught us the game, obsessed with us, celebrated and lamented with us, what Olberman wrote (and expounded upon during his show Monday night) should strike a chord.
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
- Cardinals: Todd Wellemeyer was garbage in the Spring. How bad was he? 17 runs in his last 20 IP of the Spring. That bad. Still, and you know this, Wellemeyer is a gamer. Also, Wellemeyer was 3 - 0 against Pittsburgh in 5 starts last year with a 3.45 ERA. Nothing to write home about, but not Zach Duke-ian either (see below). Long story short, the Pirates have never really knocked Wellemeyer around, and I don't expect them to do so tonight.
- Pirates: Remember back in 2005 when Zach Duke wasn't entirely crappy? He was 8 - 2 as a midseason call-up and he was anointed the Pirates ace heading into 2006. That was a long time ago. Since 2005 his career has followed roughly the same arc as Britney Spears' career. Last year Duke was 5 - 14 with an abysmal 4.82 ERA. Two of those losses were handed to him by the Cardinals, who battered Duke for 8 runs in 12 IP. If you have any reason to believe Duke will perform well against the Cardinals tonight, please post it in the comments.
NOTE: Zach Duke is so awful that when I did a Google Video Search for "Zach Duke" this was the 4th result (for those of you who can't view it, it's a video of a kid named Zach and his dog, Duke; 61 views):
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Duke (Zach, not the dog), awful though he is, throws the baseball with his left hand. I therefore assume the lineup will look pretty similar to Monday's (Ryan at 2B, Barden at 3B). Pujols (surprise!), Molina, Ankiel, and Ludwick have all had some success against Duke. I thirst for runs, and I expect them.
- Pirates: Ryan Doumit is the only Pirate with notable success against Wellemeyer (5-for-11 with a tater and 2-bagger). Still, until this Nyjer Morgan leaves town I am going to keep a close eye on him, just as the Cardinals should.
Finally, if you haven't read Keith Olberman's homage to his recently departed mother, then you must. For those of us who are sports fans, who have a parent who taught us the game, obsessed with us, celebrated and lamented with us, what Olberman wrote (and expounded upon during his show Monday night) should strike a chord.
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
Break It Down! April 7th Edition
The Pitchers:
- Cardinals: Last season Kyle Lohse anchored our rotation. People tend to forget that. Wainwright was great, but an injured finger limited his innings. Lohse, on the other hand, had 15 wins and 200+ innings. Some of his good work was against the Pirates. Lohse was 1 - 0 against the Pirates in 2 starts with a 2.57 ERA. Lohse also pitched better at home last season, and at night. All things considered, I'd bet you a sawbuck Lohse is going to have a quality start tonight. 7 innings, 2 or 3 runs allowed. As for the bullpen, Bernie has convinced me to not get all panicky about our closer, for now, but I would like a bigger lead anyway, just to be sure.
- Pirates: Ian Snell was 1 and 1 against the Cardinals last season in six starts, with a 7.20 ERA, with an average of 5 IP per start. I kind of love it when the Cardinals face this guy, but after Monday's game, I feel less confident that the Cardinals' bats are alive. Still, Snell's stats against the Cardinals in '08 tell me one thing: he's not going to shut us out. Right? *GULP*
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Colby Rasmus will make his major league debut tonight and the ballpark should be all abuzz. Pujols (surprise!) and Molina have both had success against Snell, as has Shumaker who should get his first start of the season at second. Ludwick and Ankiel have been, for lack of a better word, shit against Snell (both are 1-for-11, .091 AVG), so I expect Duncan will get the start even though Snell isn't a lefty (.973 OPS against Snell).
- Pirates: No one on the Pirates has had a lot of success against Lohse, but I wouldn't be surprised if Craig Monroe got a start in light of his .966 OPS and 2 dingers in 22 ABs against Lohse, more than any other Pirate. Him aside, the Cardinals need to figure out how to keep Nyjer Morgan off base, and need to keep McLouth and the other bats from making too much noise.
UPDATE: Tonight's lineup:
1. 2B Skip Schumaker
2. RF Colby Rasmus
3. 1B Albert Pujols
4. LF Chris Duncan
5. SS Khalil Greene
6. CF Rick Ankiel
7. C Yadier Molina
8. 3B Joe Thurston
9. SP Kyle Lohse
Russ likes.
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
- Cardinals: Last season Kyle Lohse anchored our rotation. People tend to forget that. Wainwright was great, but an injured finger limited his innings. Lohse, on the other hand, had 15 wins and 200+ innings. Some of his good work was against the Pirates. Lohse was 1 - 0 against the Pirates in 2 starts with a 2.57 ERA. Lohse also pitched better at home last season, and at night. All things considered, I'd bet you a sawbuck Lohse is going to have a quality start tonight. 7 innings, 2 or 3 runs allowed. As for the bullpen, Bernie has convinced me to not get all panicky about our closer, for now, but I would like a bigger lead anyway, just to be sure.
- Pirates: Ian Snell was 1 and 1 against the Cardinals last season in six starts, with a 7.20 ERA, with an average of 5 IP per start. I kind of love it when the Cardinals face this guy, but after Monday's game, I feel less confident that the Cardinals' bats are alive. Still, Snell's stats against the Cardinals in '08 tell me one thing: he's not going to shut us out. Right? *GULP*
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Colby Rasmus will make his major league debut tonight and the ballpark should be all abuzz. Pujols (surprise!) and Molina have both had success against Snell, as has Shumaker who should get his first start of the season at second. Ludwick and Ankiel have been, for lack of a better word, shit against Snell (both are 1-for-11, .091 AVG), so I expect Duncan will get the start even though Snell isn't a lefty (.973 OPS against Snell).
- Pirates: No one on the Pirates has had a lot of success against Lohse, but I wouldn't be surprised if Craig Monroe got a start in light of his .966 OPS and 2 dingers in 22 ABs against Lohse, more than any other Pirate. Him aside, the Cardinals need to figure out how to keep Nyjer Morgan off base, and need to keep McLouth and the other bats from making too much noise.
UPDATE: Tonight's lineup:
1. 2B Skip Schumaker
2. RF Colby Rasmus
3. 1B Albert Pujols
4. LF Chris Duncan
5. SS Khalil Greene
6. CF Rick Ankiel
7. C Yadier Molina
8. 3B Joe Thurston
9. SP Kyle Lohse
Russ likes.
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Break It down! April 6th Edition
The Pitchers:
- Cardinals: Adam Wainwright gets the Opening Day start and he might not be pleased to see the Pirates come to town (although I am sure the rest of us are). Last year in two starts against the Pirates Wainwright was 0 - 1 with an 8.25 ERA. Weird, right? Never fear though, Waino's numbers at home last season were great (7 - 1 with a 2.63 ERA), his Spring numbers were great, and the Cardinal's overall record against the Pirates were great. I feel good about Waino, but the bullpen is an unknown (for now at least).
- Pirates: Paul Maholm is a pretty good starting pitcher and although he got beat up a bit by the Red Sox in his last Spring start, he was great otherwise (1.52 ERA in six starts). Last season against the Cardinals he was 2 - 1 with a 3.05 ERA in 20.2 IP. Plus he is a lefty. So, will the Cards fare better against lefties this season, Maholm in particular? We'll see, but I don't feel as confident as I would like to feel. If the Cards can get him out of the game, that bullpen is garbage.
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Pujols has crushed Maholm (8-for-16 with 4 extra base hits). He has crushed the rest of the Pirates too. Me thinks this will be a theme this season: Pujols crushes the opposing pitchers. Everyone else on the team has limited experience against Maholm, except Ludwick who is 1-for-11 against Maholm. Sure glad he is batting 5th and not 2nd or 4th today. The story line of this game for the Cardinals bats will be how theyhandle the first lefty of the season.
- Pirates: With all due respect, I have no respect for the Pirates lineup. Don't give Nate McLouth pitches to hit, that's it. He has battered the Cardinals in the recent past, 6 homers and 18 RBI against the Birds last year. The rest of this team sucks, or at least they should.
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
- Cardinals: Adam Wainwright gets the Opening Day start and he might not be pleased to see the Pirates come to town (although I am sure the rest of us are). Last year in two starts against the Pirates Wainwright was 0 - 1 with an 8.25 ERA. Weird, right? Never fear though, Waino's numbers at home last season were great (7 - 1 with a 2.63 ERA), his Spring numbers were great, and the Cardinal's overall record against the Pirates were great. I feel good about Waino, but the bullpen is an unknown (for now at least).
- Pirates: Paul Maholm is a pretty good starting pitcher and although he got beat up a bit by the Red Sox in his last Spring start, he was great otherwise (1.52 ERA in six starts). Last season against the Cardinals he was 2 - 1 with a 3.05 ERA in 20.2 IP. Plus he is a lefty. So, will the Cards fare better against lefties this season, Maholm in particular? We'll see, but I don't feel as confident as I would like to feel. If the Cards can get him out of the game, that bullpen is garbage.
The Lineups:
- Cardinals: Pujols has crushed Maholm (8-for-16 with 4 extra base hits). He has crushed the rest of the Pirates too. Me thinks this will be a theme this season: Pujols crushes the opposing pitchers. Everyone else on the team has limited experience against Maholm, except Ludwick who is 1-for-11 against Maholm. Sure glad he is batting 5th and not 2nd or 4th today. The story line of this game for the Cardinals bats will be how theyhandle the first lefty of the season.
- Pirates: With all due respect, I have no respect for the Pirates lineup. Don't give Nate McLouth pitches to hit, that's it. He has battered the Cardinals in the recent past, 6 homers and 18 RBI against the Birds last year. The rest of this team sucks, or at least they should.
Well that's it in the way of analysis(?). Wish I were in St. Louis. GO CARDS!!
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