Looking back at the 2011 Pirates

Things looked awfully good for the Pittsburgh Pirates for the first few months of the season.
The team was competitive and in the hunt for the division lead!
Hell,Fox was even selecting Pirates games for the Saturday Game of the Week to showcase those plucky Buccos!
Eventually teams without the talent to contend begin to fade away like Douglas Macarthur and the Pirates had their "Chico Ruiz" night in Atlanta losing a game on a horrible call at like three in the morning and it was all downhill from there.

Here are some thoughts on the 2011 Pirates and if time permits over the next week or so,I may do a similar post for the 2011 Indians,so if that interests you-let me know..

1) Andrew McCutchen continues to develop into a star.
McCutchen's average was not as high as I would have preferred it to be (.259),but his 800+ OPS was the only Pirate to reach that number with more than 250 at bats.
McCutchen looks to me to be the only current Pirate that will test the financial resolve of Bob Nutting in keeping a home grown star...

2) After McCutchen,only Garrett Jones and Neil Walker even topped .700 OPS and that shows the weakness of this teams hitting.
Not only was it not very good,only with an exception or two could an excuse be offered.

3) The Pirates were in the race for a while and were the nations darling for a bit.
I bet I had 50 people over the course of that run asking me about the Pirates and was I happy?!
Yes,I was,but I had been watching the games and knew how tenuous things had been.
The ball had been bouncing right for a half and then returned to reality in the second portion of the season.

4) The story of the season other than the surprising first half has to be the stunning inversion of the development of Pedro Alvarez,who hit under .200 and looked worse doing it,if that is possible.
Alvarez had been a slow starter in each of his minor league seasons and I figured that his slow start was just that again.
Alvarez finished the way he started and made trips to Indianapolis during the season.
Unless the Pirates suddenly come up with an alternative,Alvarez will be the starter again next season with tons to prove...

5) Neal Huntington continues to struggle with refining the Pirates with major league free agents.
Huntington's two hitting acquisitions over the off season (Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz) were so unproductive that neither finished the season in Pittsburgh and one (Overbay) was given his outright release.
Jose Veras was solid for a while before wearing out in the second half,while Kevin Correia used the first half offense to help him win 12 games despite a middling ERA and WHIP.
Pittsburgh will always struggle getting proven players to come there,but Huntington has to do a better job in getting the low to mid range free agent that will sign with the Pirates to be a quality addition..../

6) Jeff Karstens has to be the surprise of the season.9-9 and an ERA of 3.38 from a pitcher that looked to be the long man from the bullpen at best entering the season.
Listening to Greg Brown constantly compare Karstens to Greg Maddux was a bit much,but Karstens far exceeded expectations from any Pirate follower...

7) Charlie Morton ranged from good to bad in his starts,but that was improvement over his past,which was pretty much just bad.
The ballyhooed change to the Roy Halladay like mechanics made a difference and helped Morton keep the ball down in the zone.
If Morton can make a small improvement next season,he should be more than solid.

8) James McDonald had a awful April,but was pretty good thereafter.
The man with the dominant curveball could use some work in keeping the pitch count down and therefore in games longer,but I still think there are good things to come.

9) Two big questions involve Pirate options on Ryan Doumit and Paul Maholm.
I would bet that the Pirates will pass on Doumit's option as his is an unusual one.
The Doumit option,if picked up,is for two years at a total of 15.5 million.
Considering the injury issue that follows Doumit around,I think the Pirates will pass and take their chances with the returning Chris Snyder and Michael McKenry.

10) As far as Maholm goes,his option is for nine million and considering his weak second half and injury,I would say it is 50/50 that his option is picked up.
Can the Pirates get a similar pitcher for a lesser price? Maybe,but they almost certainly will not get a better one and the team needs to improve-not tread water...

11) Joel Hanrahan was dominant with his 40 saves,but I would not be against shopping him around in the off season.
Nothing against Hanrahan,but elite closers can bring a nice return and the Pirate need young hitters in the worst way...

12) Ronny Cedeno has a club option for 2012 as well at three million.
Three million is not an excessive cost for a shortstop of Cedeno's ilk,but I bet the Pirates are getting tired of the lackadaisical play and brain dead decisions that are a staple of Cedeno's game.
I wager Cedeno's option is passed on and Neal Huntington will likely waste money on another less than winning free agent,not that I think Cedeno deserves to have the option picked up...

13) Neil Walker continues to improve at second base.
Utley with the bat,but his bat will play much better at second than at third and his defense is better by the game,although I don't see him as an elite defender either.
If Walker's power increases a little,I'd be pretty happy.

14) Alex Presley has been the guy that has pushed his way into the outfield picture with his play in 2010 and 11.
Presley has just plain hit well and Alex is a guy I was dead wrong on.
I saw him play many times in Hickory and Lynchburg and I thought he would be an organizational soldier with speed.
Presley has changed my mind and deserves a shot at being a starter next season or the fourth outfielder at worst.


15) Derrek Lee hit well after the trade with the Orioles,but I am still not sure that he is the solution at first base next season.Something tells me the last weeks of the season was a salary run-just a gut feeling...


Bonus:Nice to see two favorites of ours make the team at times this season in Mike Crotta (early) and Jared Hughes (late).
Both had their good and bad outings,but both can say they lived the dream.
Hughes might have a shot at the bullpen for 2012.....


Hope you enjoyed this,if time permits-I may be back later today...

For one night-the case FOR the wild card

I have always hated the wild card in Major League Baseball and with the thoughts of a future expansion of the playoffs,I am sure that I will dislike it even more.
However,the hour and a half that I spent last Wednesday night flipping back and forth between games was compelling television and likely will not even come close to being matched by the actual playoffs.

I really did not have anyone that I cared about to root for in this fight either,so this was not really a Tampa or Boston issue.
I used to love pulling for Boston when the Indians were out of things by June,but the onslaught of under 35 idiot Red Sox fans have taken that away.

Sidebar: Ever notice that almost every Red Sox fan older than 35 is generally cool and a lot of fun to talk baseball with and nine of ten under that age is an obnoxious jackass?
I even have a friend under 35 that loves the Sox, is a good guy and even he cannot bring the average up of that demographic.

I cannot pull for Tampa either unless they play the Yankees.
I admit to being jealous of Tampa as the latest team to be smart with high draft picks and trades and taking advantage of the window of time that lower revenue teams have to make a playoff run-unlike Pittsburgh.

The atmosphere was more than baseball usually has and I bet average fans were enjoying the games as well.
I am not going to get into the details of the game other than the part of the excitement had to do with the Tampa comeback from seven runs down and the Red Sox slowly finding a way to lose.

I suppose that baseball is constantly looking for that infusion of excitement and they got it on this night,but generally that is not going to be there on a consistent basis.
Baseball is an everyday companion that can never compete with the one day explosion of the NFL,but last Wednesday showed that on occasion,it can more than hold its own and for one night,the wild card was worth having...

Photo Credit-J.Meric-Getty Images

Late rally falls short for Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks finally took a chance by going to the no huddle with the score 27-7 in favor of the visiting Atlanta Falcons and uncorked a furious rally that almost pull the victory out as Steven Hauschka's 61 yard field goal attempt fell short with eight seconds remaining in a 30-27 Atlanta win.
 Tavaris Jackson tossed three touchdowns to go with two interceptions,but looked very sharp in the second half and very comfortable in the no huddle.
The Seahawks fall to1-3 on the season and travel to the Big Cesspool next week against the Giants..

Puget Sounds

1) Tavaris Jackson played so well in the second half that he might have bought himself some time over Charlie Whitehurst.
The no huddle seemed to suit Jackson and if the Seahawks were smart,they would add some more wrinkles to the package.

2) The difference maker in this one was a Jackson interception that was not his fault.
Jackson gunned what looked to be a touchdown pass to Zach Miller,who was crossing the goal line with one foot down and the other on the way when he was blasted by a Falcon,popping the ball into the air to be grabbed by another Falcon.
In a game that was lost by two points,that was huge,but that was a big shot,so I cannot blame Miller any....

3) I loved the 52 yard TD pass from Jackson to Sidney Rice.
I did not care as much for the throat slash by Rice after the score that cost 15 yards of field position.
When will some of these guys ever learn?

4) The defense started slow and giving up 30 points is never good,but the second half clearly saw the "adjustments" that are referred to in every game made by the defense.
Atlanta struggled running the ball in the second half,which led to more Seattle possessions and started the ball rolling for the Seahawks to get back into the game....

5) Two things to look for this week-Mike Williams and Doug Baldwin both left the game with head injuries.
That makes the second and third receivers questionable for the Giants game next week.
Baldwin has been a surprise this season,while Williams showed signs of breaking out of his early doldrums yesterday before the injury....

6) The rumor mill had Aaron Curry on the trading block early in the week.
Curry's contract would make him tough to deal,but I liked what I saw from him yesterday.
I think Curry is getting closer to turning things around,I would hate to see him go just as he is on the verge of that.....

7) Kam Chancellor missed the game and was missed.
The secondary is not the same without the thumper in the middle of the field.

8) A Browns note-you had better hit a homer with the Falcons top pick next year because Julio Jones is good.
Really good.
Jones might not have been as good as a Browns without Roddy White on the other side,but trust me-he is good...

9) Pete Carroll almost had to try the 61 yarder at the end of the game.
It was fourth and eight with just eight seconds to go and getting a play off after a possible fourth down play might have been dicey.
Considering into the wind and the all time long at Qwest Field is 55 yards,it was unlikely,but I understand the risk....

10) Seattle will only play one home game in the next month as they travel to New York,take their bye week,travel to Cleveland before hosting the Bengals and then back on the road again to Dallas.....

Photo Credir:Steven Brashear-Getty Images

Poor tackling and coverage dooms Browns

The Cleveland Browns will head into their bye week 2-2 after a pounding that was handed to them by the Tennessee Titans 31-13.
Cleveland will travel to Oakland in their next game on October 16th.

Brownie Bits

1) It was poor tackling in this one as several Titan big plays ended with poor tackling efforts,but a major issue was an inability to cover the tight end as not only Jared Cook's long catch and run ended in a tight end TD as did Craig Stevens in the end zone for the first Titan score.
I know D'Qwell Jackson has bounced back,Scott Fujita has the veteran presence that the team likes and they must like Chris Gogong as they signed him to a contract extension,but I see a serious lack of speed in the linebacking group.

2) Colt McCoy threw a team record 40 completions and 61 passes,but few were of the exciting variety.
These records tend to pop up when your team gets drilled and the other team scores on one and two play drive and the occasional defensive touchdown.

3) McCoy was sacked three times,but was under heavy pressure far more often than that.
Not a stellar day for the blocking bunch.

4) I have seen this type of play call (and railed about it) from Mike Holmgren and the West Coast offense protege's for years and Pat Shurmur pulled one out yesterday.
Fourth and one with Peyton Hillis in the fullback position in the Power I,Armond Smith behind him.
Keep in mind,not Montario Hardesty.Armond Smith.
Instead of handing the ball to Hillis,McCoy flips the ball to Smith for an off tackle run.
Tennessee hammers him for no gain.
I have seen so many times that WCO coaches try so hard to show how brilliant they are,they shoot themselves in the foot.
It must be passed down with the playbook.

5) Peyton Hillis was reported by ESPN to have skipped the Dolphins game that he had strep throat in for contract reasons as well.
I do not know Peyton Hillis,but I do see his effort and I do not buy it.
Now,do the Browns? We will see.

6) Joe Haden injured his knee and will undergo an MRI today.
Haden would be a huge loss to a secondary that is not exactly loaded in speed and talent as is.
Sheldon Brown would move up to the top corner if Haden's injury is serious and it seems like Brown is getting beaten every game.

7) Tennessee allowed the underneath passes for Colt McCoy to complete,but the team rarely took any chances deep downfield.
Is this because of the WCO philosophies?The lack of deep threats? or could it be that Pat Shurmur is not a believer in Colt McCoy's arm strength?
Interesting to see how that plays out as the season goes along.

8) I do think Mohammed Massaquoi is improving and I really like what I have seen from Greg Little,but tight end Evan Moore was only targeted twice in the loss.
When you look at the receivers in general,Moore could be a huge help in the passing game and yesterday,he was basically ignored....

9) McCoy's interception that was returned for a touchdown went to our old friend from Seattle,Jordan Babineaux.
Babineaux seemed to make big play after big play as a Hawk,but yet never seemed to get a chance as a starter.
Nice to see him getting a chance somewhere,although he is just the type of playmaker that the Browns lack in the secondary.

10) Pat Shurmur.Luke Fickell.
You two guys know each other?
You share something in common.
That "Oh Crap" look on the sidelines.

11) I know we all root for Atlanta to lose to help the higher draft pick obtained for Julio Jones in next years draft,but another team to root for to lose?
The Rams.
If the Rams get the top pick in the draft,either one of two things happens.
One,The Rams like Sam Bradford and will either trade the pick or pass on Andrew Luck.
Two,They prefer Luck at a cheaper rate and will move Bradford.
With Pat Shurmur's St.Louis connections,keep that in mind,if the Rams are at number one..

Photo Credit:Joshua Gunter-Cleveland Plain Dealer

Inept-Part two

The Ohio State Buckeyes offense surpassed its previous standard for poor play as the Buckeyes lost to Michigan State 10-7 in a game that was not nearly as close as the score indicates.
It took Joe Bauserman's 33 yard pass to Evan Spencer with ten seconds to go and some bad Spartan tackling on the play to avoid an embarrassing shutout,as if this game was not enough of the former.
Ohio State drops to 3-2 on the season and 0-1 in the Big Ten with a rough one on the horizon with a visit to Nebraska for the Huskers home debut in the league....

Buckeye Leaves.

1) Color Luke Fickell gone.
I like Fickell as a coach,but he was put into an impossible situation with no experience to guide him through.
Fickell will eventually be a solid head coach somewhere,if he wants,but that will not be in Columbus....

2) See above for offensive coordinator Jim Bollman,who had been OC in name only under Jim Tressel and now is exposed for what he is -unimaginative and just not very good..

3) Offensive line play was the difference in the game.
Nine sacks and an inability to run the football since Sparty did not have to play the pass,saw the O-line bullied and punished all day.
Mike Adams return next week will go a long way in addressing the issue,but it sure will not solve it totally.

4) The defense played hard and stopped the Spartans on occasions that should have made this score far worse,but with the exception of John Simon offered little rush on the quarterback and was on the ropes most of the game.
Field position and a lousy offense was part of the problem,but not the total issue.

5) The difference maker in this one?
The one drive that Braxton Miller put together in the game saw Devin Smith have the ball taken away from him by Darqueeze Dennard inside the Michigan State 10 on a pass that saw Smith get his hands on the ball first.
Smith was outfought for the ball and the play made the difference.
If Ohio State kicks a short field goal at minimum,that would have sent the game to overtime at least....

6) Yes,the only score was under the Joe Bauserman watch,but I still say Braxton Miller needs to keep the job and earn his stripes in a season that screams minor bowl at best.Ohio State needs to know if Miller is the guy for 2013 because he is for 2012 by default...

7) I would not be opposed to a series or two for Kenny Guiton though next week.
It is unlikely that Guiton could provide a spark or two,but one never knows for sure and Guiton has served his time and deserves a chance...

8) The Horseshoe is not Camp Randall Stadium on a good day,but boy was that place silent,when you consider that the game was a one score game for the vast majority of the game.
Awfully dead in there....

9) The Buckeyes will get an infusion of talent next week on the offensive side of the ball with Corey Brown expected to return from injury to join the tattoo crew,but I still have grave concerns about the offensive line against the Huskers.
When you get outmuscled by Michigan State with Nebraska and Wisconsin before the month ends,things look bleak.

10) Ohio State could leave October with a losing record for the first time in years.
3-2 now with Nebraska,a ranked Illinois and then the bully of the league,Wisconsin,looks like 4-4 at best to me....

Photo Credits-Kyle Robertson Columbus Dispatch

Pigskin Pickin' Machine-

The PPM is hopping today with five college games and three pro battles.

Ohio State (3-1) hosts Michigan State(3-1) in the last game before the Buckeyes get the "Tattoo Five" back next week.
The Spartans looked pretty weak against Notre Dame,but this is the conference opener and Michigan State is looking for a big name to place on their belt.
This is a winnable game for OSU,but I am still not convinced of their offense yet....

Texas Tech opens Big 12 play against the weakest team in the conference in the Kansas Jayhawks.
The 3-0 Red Raiders went down to the wire against Nevada last week and raised defensive questions.
Can the 2-1 Jayhawks take advantage of those weaknesses?

3-1 Bowling Green has a chance to make a huge impression in their trip to Morgantown for a tussle against Uncle Elmer and Hillbilly Jim and the rest of the 3-1 and 22nd ranked West Virginia Mountaineers.
West Virginia will likely be quite angry after their rump kicking by LSU last week,but the Falcons might be able to hang in the game for a while.

It is payback time for 4th ranked and 3-0 Boise State against the only team to beat them in the last two years 1-2 Nevada.
Last years game had its share of controversy and I am sure Nevada feels like they have a shot between last seasons win and last weeks near miss against Texas Tech.
This is in Boise and looks like a blood war in the making....

The game of the week has four pretty good choices,but lets go with Nebraska's first Big Ten game against the class of the league this season in the Wisconsin Badgers.
Barry Alvarez patterned the entire program at UW after the Huskers and this should be a fast moving game with two teams based on the run.
Enjoy this one as they might play again in the Big Ten title game (bleech)....


The 2-1 Cleveland Browns host the 2-1 Tennessee Titans in the last game before the bye.
These byes come way too early,I would much prefer one week off for everyone in the middle of the season.
Fair for all and best way to do it.
The Titans lost their best (Only?) receiver for the year in Kenny Britt and should rely on Chris Johnson.
Want to pick the lock of the day?The team that rushes for more yards in this one-wins....

The 1-2 Seattle Seahawks took a huge leap backwards in the Andrew Luck derby with their win last week,but I bet they fall back in line as they host the 1-2 Atlanta Falcons.
Visiting teams struggle at Qwest Field,but I see a big day for Matt Ryan,Roddy White and company this week.

Game of the week goes to the Sunday night game with the 2-1 New York Jets visiting the 2-1 Baltimore Ravens.
The Jets flopped last week in Oakland and return to the road again.
Were the Jets looking forward to Rex Ryan's return to Baltimore?
Looks like a low scoring,hard hitting games that should feature lots of Ray Lewis celebrating tackles that he did not make,but did manage to dive into the pile for....

Our Picks
Michigan State over Ohio State 20-16
Texas Tech over Kansas 53-29
West Virginia over Bowling Green 41-20
Boise State over Nevada 38-28
Wisconsin over Nebraska 24-14

Browns over Titans 14-10
Falcons over Seahawks  30-10
Jets over Ravens 17-16

Busy Busy Busy

A long week is close to ending and I hope to have time to devote to getting back to regular posting.
Work on the house has caused chaos as far as time goes,along with other personal issues and the always popular work,so things are getting back to normal.

First off,a Happy Birthday to one of the two special ladies that take care of me everyday.
Rachel turns 15 tomorrow and I wanted to note that before tomorrow,as things can get busy on football Sundays.
Thanks for being the most wonderful daughter that I could ask for and being such a unique and special individual!

Honestly,I have not always been motivated over the past month as I just have not felt like following things as closely as I normally would.
I bet I watched three games over the final month of the baseball season and did not have a guilty feeling at all.
I have even sat down a few times over the course of the month to write and just had nothing to say.
I have a few ideas for things coming up and I feel back to normal for the most part.
I want to look at the Pirates,the annual look at the Hagerstown Suns on and off field,a post about the compelling television on Wednesday with the wild card on the line,C-SPAN's The Contenders and a look at one writer's opinion on the top ten wrestlers that I have seen,which might interest those of you that enjoy wrestling..

This blog only works when I need a venue to voice my opinions.
I lacked that last month for reasons listed and personal reasons that I'll keep to myself,however the voice is returning and I'm surprised that despite my less than normal number of posts,the visits remained pretty strong-let's see if we can zap this back up to earlier in the year,which saw record visits for six months in a row.

Thanks for listening and visiting....

Shawn