Brewers beat Bullington,Coonelly CEO Choice.

The Brewers allowed Bryan Bullington to look like a big league journeyman for five innings before chasing him from the game in the sixth on their way to a 6-1 win over the Pirates.
Bullington allowed just Prince Fielder's homer before the 6th,but was unable to to record an out in the pivotal 6th.
Here it is-Bryan Bullington does not have the stuff to be a successful MLB starter.
There-I said it.
Maybe he MIGHT eventually develop into a long relief,last man on the staff type,but I am not sure that would ever be enough for Pirates fans.
He is just SO hittable.
Teams are just able to tee off on him and he seems incapable of missing bats.
I know that there are always pitchers that rely on their defense more than strikeouts,but this seems so different.
Bullington is not a Jamie Moyer,using pinpoint control to use his defense to control the game by not allowing hard contact by the batters.
His stuff,even when he is getting outs,is just smashed and one always gets the feeling that it is just a matter of time before the roof caves in.
I admire him for his comeback efforts,but I just do not see a happy ending to the story.
Bullington was the losing pitcher to drop to 0-2 on the season.
Nate McLouth had the only Pirate RBI.
The loss was the Pirates 81st of the season,so if they run the table they can avoid the 15th losing season in a row.
In other news- Christmas gifts will fall from the sky and I will no longer have to work for a living.
The Brewers series ends today at 12:35.

In the more important news,it looks like it is a done deal for Frank Coonelly to become the new CEO for the Pirates.
Again for the reasons that I detailed yesterday,I am skeptical,but willing to be open minded.
Three names mentioned for the GM job are the previously mentioned Ruben Amaro Jr, Frank Wren,the Asst.GM in Atlanta and former Orioles GM and Tony LaCava,the director of personnel for the Blue Jays.
LaCava is a local product,which always seems to carry weight with Pittsburgh.
I think I would pass on LaCava for the same reasons that I outlined yesterday with Amaro.
Check those reasons out and just switch names.
Wren would be OK,but has been mentioned as a long shot.
No one can succeed in Baltimore,so I don't hold his lack of success there against him.

Pitching Matchup

Milwaukee: David Bush (11-10) at Pittsburgh: Tom Gorzelanny (14-7) 12:35

On the Signing Front

We finished up the in person portion of the signing season by going to Game 1 of the Carolina League Championship between Frederick and Salem.
First time all season that we were able to see the Avalanche and since it was expected to be Kinston representing the Southern Division,I didn't have a Salem team set.
So basically it was some odds and ends for Battlin Bob and myself to clean up.
The biggest catch was Carolina League MVP Mitch Einertson.
I remember Mitch from his days as a Lexington Legend and he was always a terrific signer and always took time to talk and this time was no different.
Chris Johnson signed his SAL top prospect and Lexington cards.
These were nice additions as Johnson had been promoted when the SAL cards came out.
Former big league outfielder Chuck Carr,who is the Salem hitting coach,signed one for me as well.
After the game,I was able to get former big league hurler and current Frederick pitching coach Blaine Beatty on his Frederick cards and a old Indianapolis Indian card along with prospect Tyler Henson.
Henson was part of the recently released NY-Penn prospect set and he laughed when he signed his Bowman card saying "not another of these wrong name cards".
The Bowman lists him as "Bobby" Henson.
Get used to that one,Tyler-that is the card that you will see the most!
Thanks to Bill Cover,who added Frederick's Tag Horner before the game for us and got some stuff from the Wilmington Blue Rocks,when they played in Frederick against the Keys in the Northern Semis.
The most notable Blue Rocks were hurlers Julio Pimental,Danny Cortes and Rowdy Hardy.
Thanks again,Bill.
Plans are in the works for a awards post in the future for the SAL and Carolina Leagues here based on signings etc,so watch for that down the road.

Bullpen Notes

Congrats to the Frederick Keys for winning the Carolina League title in 4 games.
The Keys were the 3rd team in CL history to win the championship with a losing record,but the Mills Cup is all that counts.
Maybe we can get a picture over the winter of the Mills Cup in the Keys offices.

The Hickory Crawdads lost the SAL North semis to West Virginia 2 games to 1.
Not a bad season in Hickory,but do not be deceived-the Crawdads are more of a veteran crew for the level and not loaded with future Pirates.
Congrats to the team though,as they always played hard and to the best of their abilities!

Former Hagerstown Sun Justin Maxwell blasted a grand slam homer in a pinch hitting appearance in the Nationals 13-8 loss to the Florida Marlins.
It was the first big league hit for Maxwell,who has certainly been on the fast track this season after starting the year in Hagerstown.
Here is hoping that it is the first of many for Justin!

And finally, John Sickels blog looks at the starting rotation of the Vermont Lake Monsters.
At least some of these pitchers will be in Hagerstown as members of the Suns next season.

Photo Credit
Bullington-Keith Srakoic-AP Photo
Maxwell-J.Pat Carter-AP Photo

Seahawks Wheelin and Dealin!

The Seattle Seahawks spent today attempting to shake things up,as they peddled popular veteran Bryce Fisher to Tennessee and acquired Charlie Frye from the Browns.
Fisher was listed as the starter at a defensive end at the start of the exhibition season,but was beaten out by Darryl Tapp.
Fisher played very little in the win over Tampa,but I still did not see this one coming.
Despite the drop off in sacks in his 1st two seasons in Seattle,I still think Fisher is a productive player,but it could come down to cost and saving money on next years cap.
If Tapp is similar to Fisher in production at a cheaper cost and therefore allows the Seahawks to add a needed piece in free agency in 2008,then I can see the move.
For now,I give the grade as an incomplete depending on the performance of Tapp and that I do not know what draft pick that the Titans are sending is as of now.

Meanwhile,my two teams worked a trade as the Seahawks then traded an 2008 6th round draft pick to the Browns for Charlie Frye.
This is a deal that works for both teams.
The Seahawks have long wanted to give versatile backup quarterback Seneca Wallace an increased role in the offense,but could not do so with the fear of injury.
The acquisition of Frye will allow the Seahawks to do that.
From the Cleveland end of the deal,it has become apparent that Romeo Crennel had decided after a quarter and a half that Frye was finished as a Brown and to get anything in return for a player that was on the outs is a good move for Cleveland.
A sixth round selection does not sound like much,but when you do not have a 1st rounder,one must try to accumulate as many picks as you can.
The Browns then signed Ken Dorsey to return as the 3rd string passer,which is the role that Dorsey held last season.
The Browns have yet to announce the starting QB for this weeks game vs the visiting Bengals.

The Pirates attempt to continue to be equal opportunity dreambusters,as they shutout the Brewers 9-0 in a game that was most remembered for Nate McLouth's one hop homer into the Allegany River.
McLouth's two run shot(12) in the 5th inning ended a scoreless tie and left the ballpark over the right field wall,hitting the pavement and bouncing into the river.
Only one ball has been hit directly into the water at PNC Park,that was by Houston's Darryl Ward.
The Pirates broke the game open with 4 runs in the seventh inning as Adam LaRoche,Steven Pearce,Ronny Paulino and Jack Wilson all plated a run.
The remaining RBI went to LaRoche and pinch hitter Josh Phelps.
Tony Armas (Gasp) fired 6 scoreless innings to get the victory and improve his record to 4-5 on the year.
The series continues tonight at 7:05

Pitching Matchup

Milwaukee: Yovani Gallardo (7-4) at Pittsburgh: Bryan Bullington (0-1) 7:05

Bullpen Notes

Here is hoping Bryan Bullington can improve on his last start and give some hope to Pirates fans that want to at least see something of value for his 1st round draft pick status.

Word in the Post-Gazette is the leading candidates for CEO is MLB's Frank Coonelly and for GM the Phillies asst.GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
If this is the case- color me unimpressed.
Coonelly's job in the front office of baseball was to determine the recommended money slotting for draft picks.
Sorry,if this makes me a skeptic,but I do not see someone that set those guidelines exceeding them to sign talent.
Lets hope that I am wrong.

As far as Amaro goes,besides the fact that he is a Phillie guy,anyone have any idea why he is a good candidate?
Besides the fact that he is a Latino candidate?
Are the Phillies a powerhouse?are they filled with prospects? have they even made the playoffs?
The answer to all of these questions are no.
Why not Logan White,who has drafted the Dodgers into a coming powerhouse?
Or Paul DePodesta,who would be a perfect fit for a small market team (and would fire Jim Tracy ASAP)?
Or Chris Antonetti,the Indians asst GM,is a little more of a stat guy than I prefer,but has been a major cog in rebuilding the Tribe.
Or one of two guys that have rebuilt the Angels,Asst GM Ken Forsch or scouting director Eddie Bane?
I was really impressed with Bane from a Baseball America round table a while back.
I will be open minded with both Coonelly and the new GM,but lets think outside the box and pick someone that was involved with building a winner and has some talent experience,not settle for a Phillie that has really done nothing special.

Maybe back later with an Ode to the Captain.

Photo Credits
Fisher-Rod Mar-Seattle Times
Frye-CP Photo

Super Jumbo Edition

3 games over the weekend to catch up on-2 wins and a loss.

The Ohio State Buckeyes struggled offensively against the Akron Zips,but a totally dominant defense controlled the Zips all game as the Buckeyes pulled away with two second half touchdowns for a 20-2 win.
Akron scored their 2 points in the first quarter as Chris Wells was tackled in the end zone and that pretty much concluded the Akron scoring and the offense from the invaders from the Rubber City.
Ryan Pretorius kicked a 37 yard field goal in the second quarter to give the Bucks a surprisingly small 3-2 halftime lead.
Pretorius booted another field goal from 34 in the 3rd to lengthen the lead,before a Todd Boeckman screen pass to Brandon Saine from the Akron 6 produced the first Buckeye TD.
I think that Saine is going to be really special,if he is able to stay healthy.
Tremendous speed and moves make this guy potentially the next OSU great,
Boeckman completed the scoring in the 4th with a 13 yard strike to Brian Robiskie.
Boeckman was intercepted twice and the offense fumbled 3 times as well.
Not a good sign,but Chris Wells was able to get untracked after his uninspired effort against Youngstown,as Wells finished with 143 yards on 20 carries.
Frankly,I am more worried about this coming weeks games against Washington in Seattle than I was a week ago.
The Huskies are coming in off a victory over Boise State and could be better than expected.
Between the game being on the road and a struggling offense-I am concerned about this game next week.

Speaking of Seattle-The Seahawks were able to wear down the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers and post a 20-6 victory.
Tampa used two first half field goals to lead for most of the half before a Josh Brown field goal and a Shaun Alexander 1 yard TD run in the last 3 minutes gave the Seahawks the 10-6 lead at the half.
Alexander finished with 105 yards on the ground for the day.
The Seahawks showed some new found aggressiveness on defense as the Buccaneers watched as both starting QB Jeff Garcia and star runner Cadillac Williams were knocked from the game with injuries.
This forced the already offensively challenged Buccaneers to use Luke McCown at QB and use journeymen Michael Pittman and Earnest Graham as the backs.
Seattle added the clinchers in the 4th quarter with a 46 yard field goal by Brown early in the period before Matt Hasselbeck hit a streaking Maurice Morris on a fly pattern on a 34 yard pass to complete the scoring.
I would liked to see the offense start a little faster,but loved what I saw from the defense.
All and all-a good first outing.
The Seahawks travel to Arizona for the first road trip of the year to take on the Cardinals next week.

Sadly,the Seahawks had to salvage the day for me as the Cleveland Browns looked about as bad as I could have thought as the Pittsburgh Steelers pasted them 34-7.
Charlie Frye looked confused as the Steelers blitzed all during his quarter and a half sacked him 5 times and intercepted him once.
His successor ,Derek Anderson, didn't fare much better as he was intercepted once and with only one exception was unable to muster anything offensively.
Anderson's third quarter 1 yard pass action flip to fullback Lawrence Vickers did avoid a shutout,but little else could be taken from this game as a positive.
I know it is just 1 game and the time is there for a turnaround,but after watching this-it is very hard to look at things positively.
I am not calling for any head to roll yet,but if these types of efforts continue- it will not be long.
The Bengals roll into Cleveland next week and they are superior (offensively) to the Steelers.
That does not bode well for the North Coasters.

Meanwhile our Pirates took 2 out of 3 from the Cubs over the weekend,as they attempt to become the dreambusters of the Central race.
Friday-Tom Gorzelanny won his 14th game of the season with a dominating 7 innings in the Pirates 6-1 win.
The Cubs could just scratch out 6 hits vs Gorzelanny,who won for the 5th time in his last 6 starts.
Jack Wilson hit his 9th homer in the victory.

The Cubs bounced back on Saturday with a 5-1 win over Ian Snell (9-12).
Snell allowed 4 runs in his seven innings of pitching.
Jack Wilson had the only RBI with a 7th inning sacrifice fly to score Adam LaRoche.

Yesterday,the Pirates pounced early with a bases loaded triple by Freddy Sanchez in the second inning and cruised to a 10-5 win.
Sanchez added another RBI later in the games to finish the game with four.
Nyjer Morgan had a great game as well,as he knocked in 2 runs and robbed Aramis Ramirez of extra bases with a spectacular catch in center field.
Matt Morris was the winner and improved to 9-9 on the year.
The Pirates now try to dim the Brewers light in a three game series in Milwaukee.

Pitching Matchup

Pittsburgh: Tony Armas (3-5) at Milwaukee: Carlos Villanueva (7-3) 7:05

Bullpen Notes

I know that the Dave Littlefield retro has been MIA and it is coming soon.
Football has gobbled up some time,but trust me-I have not forgotten about our goodbye to the Captain.

Jack Wilson was named the National League Player of the week last week for his 600+ hitting.

Kudos to our good friends in michigan for their impressive comeback vs Oregon.
38-7,sure glad that Mike Hart was able to get his teammates ready to play that week.
This week-Mike guarantees a win vs Notre Dame.
I cannot stand Notre Dame,but that would be hilarious if the weak Irish went into the "big outhouse" and took yet another home game from michigan.

In the grasping for silver lining column-at least the Browns should not have to worry about drafting Mike Hart since they foolishly peddled their number 1 pick next year.
Having one michigan loudmouth on the team already is more than enough,I do not think that I could stand two of them making foolhardy predictions every week.

Back tomorrow with news from the minors over the weekend and on the signing front!

Photo Credits
Wells-Shari Lewis-Columbus Dispatch
Tatupu-Otto Greule Jr-Getty Images
Browns Fan-Mark Duncan-AP Photo
Hart-Tony Ding-AP Photo

Seahawks Preview

The Seahawks go into the 2007 season attempting to build on a late season run in 2006.
The defending NFC west champions have the potential to return to the Super Bowl in the weaker NFC,but need to have some things fall their way.
Things that did not fall that way in 2006.

Matt Hasselbeck returns as the quarterback.
Hasselbeck is an above average quarterback,but not a elite one and needs to step up his decision making.
All too often you see a QB without the huge arm attempt to make throws that only fireballers can complete.
The years that Hasselbeck spent around Brett Favre did not help him there,as he makes similar decisions that Favre does,but does not have the same gun.
Seneca Wallace backs Hasselbeck up and filled in ably last year when Matt was lost to injury.
Wallace would be very effective in "Versatile" roles,but without another veteran QB,that cannot happen.

Shaun Alexander attempts to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2006 and re-establish himself as an elite back.
I think that will happen,but think is the operative word.
The Seahawks NEED that to happen as Maurice Morris struggled to fill Alexander's shoes in his shot as the full time back.
Mack Strong is one of the leagues best blocking backs and an able pass catcher at fullback.

The wideouts are another question mark.
Deion Branch gets a full training camp and season to establish himself as the top receiver and I think he is sitting on a big year.
The loss of Darrell Jackson creates questions though.
Jackson was often injured and dropped a lot of passes,but trading him to the division rival 49ers was a bad move in my opinion.
D.J. Hackett gets his first shot as an every down receiver and he was solid in 3 and 4 wideout sets,but needs to show he can take it to the next level.
Veteran possession reciever Bobby Engram returns as the talented,but enigmatic Nate Burleson as well.

The tight ends finally ended the big potential-little production Jerremy Stevens era as Stevens left via free agency.
Veteran Marcus Pollard takes over as the starter and gives the Hawks an excellent catching tight end,but struggles in the blocking game.
Watch for backup Will Heller to get plenty of time as the blocking tight end.

The offensive line ranks with the best in football led by All-Pro Walter Jones at left tackle.
Jones could be the best tackle in football and will help open the holes for Alexander to run the sweep,which is his preferred running play.
Sean Locklear returns at right tackle,along with guard Chris Gray to continue to give the line stability.
Former Buckeye Rob Sims enters his second year looking at a good future after a good rookie season at left guard and former number 1 pick Chris Spencer solidifies the middle at center.
This could be the best line in the NFC.

The defense has a different look,but yet many of the mainstays are still in Seattle.
The defensive line loses Grant Wistrom to retirement,but was able to replace him ably with the signing of Patrick Kerney from the Falcons.
Kerney is a excellent pass rusher and should combine with Bryce Fisher on the other end to wreak havoc on opposing passers.
Darryl Tapp will also see extended playing time as the Seahawks love to rotate their defensive linemen.
Rookie Baraka Atkins and the recent acquired Jason Babin could also see action.
Rocky Bernard and Chuck Darby are both excellent defensive tackles,especially Bernard,who is the rarest of all defensive linemen-A good pass rushing tackle!
The depth was hurt with the loss of Marcus Tubbs to injury for the season,so rookie Brandon Mebane will need to play quality minutes from the first game.

The linebackers return all three starters from last season.
Middle man Lofa Tatupu continues his high level performance as the teams leading tackler,while Julian Peterson returns to add his pass rushing and cover skills and should only improve in his 2nd year in the system.
Leroy Hill is the other wing man and often gets overlooked by his fellow backers,but is nothing to sneer at either.

The Corners return Marcus Trufant at one corner and 2006 number 1 pick Kelly Jennings mans the other corner.
Trufant slipped a bit last season from his past performance and Seattle needs him to return to previous form.
Jennings played often last year in multiple DB packages and did well enough that the Seahawks allowed last years starter Kelly Herndon to leave via free agency.
The Seahawks top pick in this years draft,2nd rounder Josh Wilson adds depth to nickel and dime packages as does versatile Jordan Babineaux.
The Safeties have been overhauled as Ken "the Hammer" Hamlin and Michael Boulware are out and Deon Grant,Brian Russell and Mike Green are in.
All 3 of the new players are familiar to fantasy players,as all have been valuable at different times in their career.
I saw Russell all season with the Browns last season and I think he has lost a step,although with this teams pass rush he could be a beneficiary of some interceptions.
The Jury is out here.

Josh Brown returns as a top kicker and Ryan Plackemeier is back as the punter.
Plackemeier needs to improve or he wont be back for a 3rd year.
Nate Burleson is one of the leagues better return men.

My pick for Seattle?
12-4 -NFC West Champions and a possible Super Bowl

Browns preview and HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!

Thanks to all of you for the mails and IMs congratulating me on the Captain's firing today.
I will likely do a lengthy piece on the mismanagement and destruction that Dave Littlefield leaves behind in Pittsburgh,but that will wait for a day or two.
Really need to get the Browns and Seahawks previews finished.
But short of dealing with my boss,this day would have to go a long way to be ruined!!!!!!!

The Cleveland Browns enter year 3 of the Romeo Crennel/Phil Savage era and if there is not marked improvement this season,At least 1 or maybe both could be leaving the North Coast.
We will know very quickly how this season looks,as the Browns host each of their AFC North rivals in the month of September.
Looking at this schedule,it is apparent that a fast start is critical.
When you consider that your home games in the division are finished in the first month and your 1st game in October is AT New England,that becomes even clearer.

The Browns will be starting Charlie Frye at Quarterback over Derek Anderson on Sunday vs Pittsburgh.
I would have preferred Anderson,but in the big picture,it doesn't matter all that much.
The Browns did not deal for Brady Quinn to sit him behind either Frye or Anderson.
The only QB question is this-when does Quinn see his first game action,start etc.

More questions involve the running game.
Savage's signing of former Raven (YUCK) Jamal Lewis is the latest to attempt to revive the Browns sad running game.
I ,again, was not thrilled with the signing of noted dope dealer Lewis,but it is just a one year contract.
That means Lewis will be a Brown for just 1 year for the following reasons.
If Lewis indeed is back in top form,he will go where he can have a better chance of winning,if not the Browns will be again looking for a top back.
So really,despite my dislike for Lewis,it is truly low risk.
Jason Wright is a rather pedestrian backup,but I would like to see 3rd stringer Jerome Harrison get an increased role.
His speedy style could be a nice change of pace from the more powerful Lewis.
Lawrence Vickers fills the role at fullback,the 2006 draftee is a major question mark.

The Receivers look pretty similar to last years group.
Braylon Edwards returns to frustrate me with his refusal to catch the ball over the middle and his questionable effort.
All that said,the tools are there for Edwards to be successful,if he truly wants success.
Veteran Joe Jurevicious returns after an injury-riddled 1st year in Cleveland.
Joe really is a better fit as a 3rd or 4th wideout,but frankly on this team-he has to be the 2nd wideout.
2006 3rd rounder Travis Wilson returns as the top reserve.
Wilson blew into Cleveland last season bragging about being "The top WR in the draft" and backed it up with 2 catches for the season.
Former Giant Tim Carter and kick returner Joshua Cribbs provide depth and will play in the multiple WR sets.

The Tight Ends are solid as the group is led by Kellen Winslow.
Winslow showed why he was so highly thought of by Butch Davis with a 89 catch season.
While I am not a huge fan of the mouth and antics of Winslow,I love his attitude and hard nosed play on the field.
This team needs more of that "anything to win" outlook.
My only concern is his chronic leg problems,if Winslow plays-he produces.
Steve Heiden is a solid backup,who seems to come out of nowhere with a huge game once or twice a year,while former Pitt Panther Darnell Dinkins holds down the 3rd spot.

The offensive line will go a long way to determining whether this is a successful season.
First round tackle Joe Thomas of Wisconsin will have some growing pains in his debut,but projects to be a long term standout cornerstone.
Thomas enables Kevin Shaffer to move from left tackle to right,which seems to suit Shaffer more.
Ryan Tucker adds to the line after September when he returns from suspension.
Journeyman Hank Fraley is serviceable at center and maybe LeCharles Bentley could return by mid-season to really solidify the line.
Eric Steinbach and Seth Mckinney were signed as free agents to start at the guards and both are a huge upgrade.
Steinbach was considered the top free agent offensive lineman available and it would not shock me in the slightest to see him in the Pro Bowl.
This is the best offensive line that the Browns have had since their return to the league and I am excited about their prospects.

Sadly,I am not as optimistic on the defensive line.
Robaire Smith comes over from Houston as the only addition to the D-line that did not exactly set the world on fire and I do not see Smith as a major difference maker even though he will start.
Aging run stuffer Ted Washington returns as does Orpheus Roye,but both are well past their prime.
Backup Simon Fraser showed flashes last year and could possibly surprise.

The linebackers are led by the only pass rushing threat in Kamerion Wimbley.
Wimbley surprised me last year with a solid rookie season.
The inside backers are strong with hard tackling Andra Davis and D'Qwell Jackson.
Leon Williams played very well late last season in a cameo role,so he could see more playing time
Another former Texan Antwan Peek rounds out the quartet.

The corners have 2nd rounder Eric Wright and Leigh Bodden on the island as the starters.
Wright came to Cleveland with off the field issues from his college days and has not played very much in the last 2 seasons,but his athletic ability is unquestioned.
If Wright can concentrate on football,the Browns could have a steal despite the price that they paid to move up in the 2nd round to draft him.
Lots of questions to be answered.
The veteran Bodden recently had an altercation at the Cleveland airport,so that could become an
issue as the season goes on.
Bodden is a good,not great corner,but would be a huge loss as backups Davin Holly and Kenny Wright are roster filler.
The safeties are very good with youngsters Sean Jones and Brodney Pool both showing promise last year.
Jones could be nearing Pro Bowl caliber,if he continues to progress.

Phil Dawson and Dave Zastudil return as the kickers.
Both are middle of the road.

Joshua Cribbs returns as one of the leagues better returners.....

My prediction for the Browns?
6-10.
Improvement,but not enough to save Romeo Crennel,but Phil Savage survives.

Pirates win 1,lose 1

The Pirates split two over last night and today,winning 8-2 last night and being slammed 16-4 today by the Cardinals.
In the victory,Tony Armas allowed just a 2 run homer to Rick Ankiel in 6 innings of work to move to 3-5 on the season,while offensively the story was a Pirate offense that was able to get a 3 run homer from Ronny Paulino(10),a solo shot from Adam LaRoche(21) and a 3 run double off the bat of Jack Wilson.
The other RBI belonged to Cesar Izturis.
The Pirate bullpen mopped up with 3 scoreless innings of work,with Damaso Marte,Shawn Chacon and Matt Capps contributing a inning of effort.
This game was the return of Mark Mulder from injury and the Buccos made it an unsuccessful one,as Mulder was chased after allowing 6 runs in 4 innings.

The Pirates then played a getaway day afternoon game today and if this game did not make a Pirate fan wince nothing will.
The 16-4 pounding was especially painful as 3 of the guys that were pummelled were "prospects" Bryan Bullington,John Van Benschoten and Dave Davidson.
Not to mention another dazzling outing by long-time non-favorite John Grabow.
Bullington got the start and allowed 5 runs in 3 innings,as he made his initial MLB start.
Van Benschoten then exceeded that glossy line by allowing the same amount of runs,but did it in an inning and a third.
Grabow then finished the inning by allowing 2 more runs.
Dave Davidson then allowed 4 runs in his first MLB inning.
If these guys are the future,things are not looking well in Steeltown.
Pirates RBI to Jose Bautista (2) and 1 each to Freddie Sanchez and Carlos Maldonado.
The Pirates return home for an important(at least to the Cubs) series vs the Cubs.

Pitching Matchup

Chicago: Rich Hill (8-7) at Pittsburgh: Tom Gorzelanny (13-7) 7:05

Bullpen Notes

In game 1 of the SAL Northern playoffs,the Hickory Crawdads were blasted at home by the 1st half winners,the West Virginia Power 12-2.
Mike Crotta was routed in the start for Hickory,but one of our favorites Alex Periard was the starting and winning pitcher for the Power.
Alex allowed just 2 runs and 7 hits over a 7 inning span.
Game 2 is in Charleston WV on Friday and a Crawdad loss means the end of their season.

The Frederick Keys pounded the Wilmington Blue Rocks 9-2 in Delaware in Game 1 of the Carolina Northern Finals.
This guarantees at least one more game for us to see before seasons end.
Game 2 is tonight in Frederick and a Keys victory paves the way to the Carolina League title series vs either Kinston or Salem.

LATE UPDATE
Chorye Spoone threw 8 and two thirds innings of no-hit baseball before Wilmington's Jose Duarte homered and ruined both the no-hitter and shutout.
Spoone retired the next batter to finish with a one hitter,a 3-1 victory and the Northern Division title for Frederick.
The Keys title opponent is still unknown,as Josh Rodriguez smacked a solo homer in the bottom of the 9th to give Kinston a 1-0 win over Salem and tie the series at 1 apiece.
Tomorrow's Game 3 in Kinston decides the Southern Champion.
Sung-Wei Tseng takes the ball for the K-Tribe,while the Avalanche have not announced their starter for the game.

Back tomorrow with either the Browns or Seahawks preview

Photo Credit
Tom Gannam-AP Photo

Visiting State College and seeing the Spikes

The traveling tour continued and the mood was quasi-somber as Ryan,Battlin Bob and I went into the game realizing that the season could be over at the end of the evening.
Although the win of the Frederick Keys tonight guaranteed at least 1 more game,we did not know that at the time.
The uneventful trip brought us to State College and allow me to say one thing about trying to find Medlar Field-it is easy!
Being that it is across the street from the massive structure that is Beaver Stadium (home of Penn State Football) and that stadium is the largest building in town,you cannot miss it.
Keep those facts in mind and you will be fine..
However,here is the downside about State College.
It is a college town and therefore the students are everywhere and parking spaces are few.
So much so that we literally could not find a place to park and therefore could not eat in town. Therefore we settled for ballpark fare,even though it meant a 90 minute wait until the gates opened.
Now the Spikes did make the time go quickly as they had the ticket windows open as soon as we arrived and had their team store open and available.
The Spikes were the first team all season to open the team store before the opening of the gates.
I don't know why more teams do not try this,but I would think it is a good idea on game days for teams that have team shop areas.
After a purchase of Spikes team sets and New York-Penn League top prospect sets,we were ready to go after a little more waiting.
It sure made the downtime go so much faster and credit to the Spikes for doing it.
Now tell your sister team in Altoona to start doing the same!!!
Across the street,the Paternoville signs were out and students were already camping out waiting for the game Saturday vs Notre Dame.
So course,I had to ask people all day,about is their some JV game going on around here soon?
I do not hate Penn State on the Michigan level,but their fans are living in 1985 when they were the bully of Eastern Football.
Please,Nittany Lions go to the Big East,where you really belong and you can play your real rivals,where they care about their rivalries with you.
West Virginia,Pitt.Syracuse,Rutgers etc,they want to be rivals and play you,while those of us that are Big Ten fans really don't care much either way.
Upon entering the field,we went straight to the right field line as that is where we had been tipped by previous collectors that had been to State College as being the place to go.
And it is for the visitors as unknown to us-the Spikes have one of those hated dugout tunnels.
As a result,we suffered for this day,but learned a lesson.
The visitors come out from down the right field line and we could have cleaned up on the visiting Auburn Doubledays.
But without a team set,we settled for the two players in the league prospect set-catcher
J.P Arencibia and pitcher Brett Cecil in addition -we added Arencibia's USA baseball cards as well.
Both were very accommodating,especially Cecil,who heard a frustrated Ryan groan in disbelief as he came out as Ryan was walking away, and stopped and waited for us to get his cards out to sign.
Very considerate!
Those two were very important,as we will not get another chance at the Blue Jays prospects,as they do not have teams in either the SAL or Carolina Leagues.
We did Ok with the Spikes,but two minor disappointments.
Michael Felix,who I knew from his Hickory stint,was not close enough to see us,so therefore we missed on his Crawdad card and 2007 3rd round choice Brian Friday signed for Ryan,but I could not get his Spikes card to Ryan.
Austin McClune was signing his stuff,so I had no pen available and had to watch Friday return to the dugout,but he should be in Hickory next year,so no problem.
I did get catcher Andrew Walker,who has played very well after being drafted from TCU and Battlin Bob was able to get 2nd rounder Duke Welker as he charted during the game.
But the best was yet to come or worst depending on your perspective.
Early on,walking down the line was Brian Tracy,son of the current Buc manager.
I had been critical of Tracy even being drafted,let alone in the 23rd round,judging by his college stats.
So of course,he turned out to be a nice kid and chatted with us and others for a while.
All of which made me feel like an jerk.
A few minutes later,here he came-Moskos...........
I was ready for him to ignore us and then I can really get into the "disliking him "game big time.
He can join "the list",Ben Grieve,Jordan Schafer,Eric Campbell etc......
But we called for him and he ran right over,looked at my USA foil card and said"that is a neat one,I dont have that one yet".
Then he started telling us how he gets on Ebay and looks for his cards to collect and told us of the USA variation with him wearing a grey jersey etc.
Asked where we were from etc,he even knew where Hagerstown was!
Said "I will be there,if I'm with Hickory,but Frederick is not too far if I am in Lynchburg".
Totally shocked!
He thanked us for coming,maybe I will see you next year etc.
And yet again-I felt like a total ass.........
I still feel the pick was a ridiculous one and I stand by it and I still wish Pittsburgh had picked someone else.
And the facts remain that Moskos has not pitched well thus far,but I came away liking the guy and wanting to see him do well.
I hope he turns out to bring help to Pittsburgh and perhaps prove his worth.
After all,most scouts agreed that he was a first round talent,just not a top 10 one.
The Spikes have done one thing that I feel is a terrific idea and if teams have the option (and not all do) they should mirror it-the dimensions are exactly like those at PNC Park.
This can do nothing but help in evaluating the talent.
Great idea and I wish more teams did this with their parks if possible.
Sadly,the night had its downside.
Of course,with my typical luck,we miss Stadium blanket night (the next night) and football night (two days away) and on that day,Zach Duke is town for a rehab start.
What do I get?
Some person from American Idol who I had no clue who she was.....
The funniest part of her visit was her needing the closed captioning on the scoreboard for the National Anthem and Take me out to the ballgame to know the songs.
Battling Bob reports that during the 7th inning "ballgame" rendition that Duke Welker kept hollering at her that she was cheating by reading the words instead of knowing them!
I thought they might put the words up every night,but fans seated around us assured us that was not the case.
Geez.........
The game was interesting in a 7-5 Spikes win.
A guy that surprised me was Marcus Davis.
Lots of hustle and seemed to be a high energy guy.
Marcus made a great sliding catch in the outfield and always seemed to be moving.
His average is low,but has hit 8 homers.
Nothing to get too excited about,but I did make a mental note.
Being a pitching guy at heart,I was happy to get to see both Michael Felix and Daniel Moskos in the game.
Felix got the win,but in his two innings of work,he fanned 3 ,but walked the same.
I just do not see any improvement in his control problems,as his curve may have too much break as he just cannot consistently throw it for strikes with the huge break.
The gun seemed a bit high,as Felix was clocked at 95,but I would say 92 was more accurate as a topping out point.
Moskos came in to pitch the 8th and did not allow a run,as he fanned two and gave a double up as the only base runner.
The outfield gun was showing him at 96 as a high,but I doubt that as well.
I would say he was consistently in the low 90's,but I am dubious of 96.
Ryan came up with the terrific idea to video Moskos in his inning,so all the Pirate nation can take a look at his mechanics.
Great idea and thanks to Ryan for not only the idea,but the camera work as well.
Easy park to get out of as in 5 minutes,we were on the road.
Thanks to Battlin Bob for putting up with Ryan and I's ribbing all day about Penn State etc!
All and all enjoyable and we will make a few refinements for a trip next year to smooth out some rough ends.
Back tomorrow with more.

Photo And Video Credit
Ryan Heimberger