Being that scoring zero runs gives you no better than a scoreless tie,you better be perfect.
They weren't as the Chicago Cubs behind the arm of former Frederick Key Jake Arrieta dominated in a 4-0 win.
Gerrit Cole allowed all four Chicago runs over a five inning stint with the main damage being homers off the bats of Kyle Schwarber and Dexter Fowler,
Pirate Hooks
1) Feels good to settle in for Pirate Hooks,
Been a long time as I don't get to watch as many games as I used to.
2) There were really just two entertaining parts of this game for a Pirates fan and both spun off of a seventh game bench clearing incident after Jake Arrieta was drilled in the rump by Tony Watson.
The actual incident was pretty much your typical baseball incident,pushing,shoving and screaming,but still for Pirates fans,that was about as good as it got...
3) Other than the ejection of Sean Rodriguez,who was started for defensive purposes at first base,only to be removed after the Pirates fell behind 3-0 for the bat of defensively challenged Pedro Alvarez.
Rodriguez was the only player ejected,which didn't harm any plans for Clint Hurdle since he was already out of the game,but gave the internet ammo for a while with a bizarre six punch combination on the water cooler,that made me think of Stetson Allie's pounding of another water cooler at the Muni.
Not sure what got Rodriguez all fired up,but had to like his spirit...
4) Gerrit Cole really didn't pitch badly,just left two pitches up and they were taken care of.
Cole had a terrific year and what should make people feel even better about him is that he still is somewhat of a work in progress.
Power pitchers give up homers,that's to be expected- a little refinement and Cole will be in the elite category.
5) Pittsburgh had two shots at getting back into the game against Jake Arrieta.
The first came in the sixth as Travis Snider singles,Josh Harrison was plunked by a pitch and then a grounder by Andrew McCutchen was misplayed by Addison Russell.
The Pirates looked for a rally with cleanup man Starling Marte at the plate,but instead watched as Marte rapped the ball to Russell,who then started a 6-4-3 double play...
6) The next chance came in the seventh,while I was driving to work.
Francisco Cervelli singled and was followed by a Neil Walker strikeout.
Aramis Ramirez came up as a pinch hitter,which could be the final at bat of an excellent career.
Pirates radio announcer Greg Brown (ugh) squealed in excitement as he described a smash down the third base that looked to be extra bases until third baseman Kris Bryant speared the ball and started a 5-4-3 double play.
The Pirates seemed to lose all spirit after that...
7) Give the Cubs all the credit in the world for turning Jake Arrieta from a failed Oriole prospect/big league disappointment into one of the best pitchers in the National League.
Arrieta's win was the first ever complete game shutout with double digit strikeouts and zero walks.
Dominant might be a light word to use...
8) One thing that I did notice was the difference in the lineups.
Joe Maddon with the Cubs gambled on an offensive lineup,losing a little on defense with Kris Bryant starting in left and Kyle Schwarber in right.
Clint Hurdle went with defense first and it showed.
I'm a pitching guy,but when it comes to position players in the postseason,you need to address every avenue to get bats in the lineup...
9) I really hate the one game wild card.
It's so gimmicky and unfair,so here's my solution.
A mini,best of 3 with the team with the better record having the choice of either game one at home or games two and three at home with (wait for it old school fans) a doubleheader to keep the schedule humming along.
Imagine the fun and strategy a doubleheader to decide advancement could bring!
10) Pittsburgh finishes with the second best record in baseball and they are gone after one game.
If you still like the one game so much (I don't) what about the two teams with the worst records playing it?
Even with the Cubs winning,they won 97 games and draw the 100 win Cardinals,while 92 game winner Los Angeles plays the 90 game winning New York Mets.
If you are going to play this gimmick,make it somewhat fair or be really radical-get rid of divisions altogether and the top five make it in...
11) Does it sound like I'm bitter about the wild card?
Well,it played to the Giants advantage twice before and I still hate it.
Pittsburgh deserved better and under the format,it is what it is,but still doesn't make it right...
12) Onto the off-season where the Pirates have three free agents to make decisions on (Corey Hart,Antonio Bastardo and Sean Rodriguez,but the bigger decisions come in arbitration with Neil Walker,Pedro Alvarez,Mark Melancon and Francisco Cervelli all in line for huge raises in their final year before free agency after 2016.
Do they keep them all at inflated costs for one more run?
Do they move some of them to keep the salary costs down?
Very interesting decisions for Neal Huntington's bunch in Pittsburgh....
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