In order for the Pittsburgh Pirates to break the longest streak of consecutive loosing season in professional sports history, they need to win at least 81 games. They have started the season 7-5 after sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in a 3 game home series. They currently have the best home record in the NL (5-1). They are last in several statistics because they are inconsistent. (have been outscored by 22 runs; bottom half in many offensive and defensive categories.) When they loose, they get blown out. When they win, they win close.
The last few years, the Pirates managed to start the season pretty decent. Usually flirting with a winning record. However, eventually they would hit a wall and loose 25 of 30 or so. If they can manage to avoid having a terrible month like that, they can make it to 81 wins. Let me explain:
As of this post, they have 7 wins. They need 74 more wins out of 150 game to finish at .500. The were great at home last year until they self destructed. As I stated before, they were 28-17 at home as of August 1 last year. They finished 12-24 at home to close out the year though. The 28-17 record was a .622 winning percentage. If they can manage to win 45 of their remaining 75 home games (.600), they will finish with a 50-31 record at home.
All they will need to do is find a way to win 31 roads games then and we get to 81. At this point they are 2-4 on the road. They need to win 29 of the remaining 75 road games or just a .387 winning percentage. They have 44 of those 75 games against the worst 7 teams in the NL (Mets, Nationals, Brewers, Cubs, Reds, Astros and Padres). Pittsburgh cannot seem to beat the Brewers, but lets just do the math for now. Milwaukee already is having pitching issues this year, and is currently 5-7 after dropping 2 of 3 to Washington. If Pittsburgh can go .454 in that span of 44 they will win 20 games. This means they will need to win 9 of the remaining 31 games (.290) on the road against the rest of the NL, and their interleague games against the Tigers, Ranger's and A's.
This is not unreasonable. The biggest downfall every year has been that they trade away their best players and self destruct shortly after. This year they don't have any stars to trade away other than McCutchen. If they can manage to keep him, call up Perdo Alvarez and get thier pitching on track, they have a real shot at this.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Writings on the Reg' 4/15
Today is tax day. If you haven't filed your taxes by today you are lazy and pathetic. On to sports.
The Pirates are playing a sea-saw season so far. At 4-5 they seem to win one, loose one. They have a day off for travel back home and have series against Cincinnatti and Milwaukee. They are good at home so they could win 4 of 6.
Fun Facts
1. Pittsburgh is last in the NL in almost every pitching statistic this year
1a. They are last in both the NL and MLB in ERA
2. The Pirates lead the NL in stolen bases (10)
2a. Andrew McCutchen leads the NL in steals (5)
3. Pittsburgh has been outscored by 26 runs so far this year.
4. In their 5 losses this year, Pittsburgh has lost by a combined score of 49-12.
5. Last year, on August 1st, the Pirates beat the Nationals at home, making their home record 28-17 at that point.
6. After that, they went 12-22 at home.
7. Pittsburgh went 22-58 on the road last year.
Current Record: 4-5
# wins needed to get to .500: 77
Garret Jones update:
9 games:
242 avg; 3 HRs; 8 RBI
.375 OBP
.545 SLG
.920 OPS
The Pirates are playing a sea-saw season so far. At 4-5 they seem to win one, loose one. They have a day off for travel back home and have series against Cincinnatti and Milwaukee. They are good at home so they could win 4 of 6.
Fun Facts
1. Pittsburgh is last in the NL in almost every pitching statistic this year
1a. They are last in both the NL and MLB in ERA
2. The Pirates lead the NL in stolen bases (10)
2a. Andrew McCutchen leads the NL in steals (5)
3. Pittsburgh has been outscored by 26 runs so far this year.
4. In their 5 losses this year, Pittsburgh has lost by a combined score of 49-12.
5. Last year, on August 1st, the Pirates beat the Nationals at home, making their home record 28-17 at that point.
6. After that, they went 12-22 at home.
7. Pittsburgh went 22-58 on the road last year.
Current Record: 4-5
# wins needed to get to .500: 77
Garret Jones update:
9 games:
242 avg; 3 HRs; 8 RBI
.375 OBP
.545 SLG
.920 OPS
Major drop off in the numbers. Since hitting his 3rd homerun of the year in his first AB of the 2nd game, Jones has gone 5 for 28 (.178) with 1 double, 6 BB and 2 RBI. (.323 OBP; .353 SLG; .676 OPS) Not the numbers you need coming out of your #3 hitter. He is supposed to be the best hitter on the team.
Amount I am drinking the juice..... 3%
Amount I am drinking the juice..... 3%
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
NHL Playoff preview
The NHL playoffs start tomorrow, and for the 3rd consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Penguins have the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference. A few months ago they seemed destined for the 2 seed, but stumbled down the stretch. Will they have enough to make another playoff run to the finals?
I hate to say it but I have to say no. On February 18th last year, they were 27-25-6 and in 10th place in the East before changing coaches to Dan Blysma. The Penguins then proceeded to go 18-3-3 and entered the playoffs as the hottest team in the NHL. They rode that momentum all the way to the Stanley Cup championship. They just don't seem to have that same spark this year.
This year, Marc-Andre Fleury resorted to his old ways of inconsistency. He can play unbelievable 1 night,
then terrible the next. Nothing showed this more than the shootout loss to Washington on March 24. Fleury played great for the entire game and the first 2 rounds of the shootout building a 2 goal lead. He then gave up 3 goals on 3 straight shots and the Pens only managed to leave with 1 point.
Last years hero, Art Ross and Con Smythe trophy winner Evgeni Malkin, has been quiet this year as well. He only played in 67 games this year and managed only 77 points. The one bright spot is that he managed 4 points (2G, 2A) on Sunday against the Islanders. It is a shame because Sidney Crosby is having the best scoring year of his career, tallying 51 this year and tying Steven Stamkos for tops in the NHL. He managed to finish with 109 points (51G, 58A) this year, 3 points behind Vancouver's Henrik Sedin for the NHL lead.
The question will now be whether or not Pittsburgh can put it all together and make a strong push towards the cup. They did get a good draw in the first round against Ottawa. The Senators have been up and down all year, but good as of late. Pittsburgh has much better depth, especially up the middle and match up well against them. This is the perfect chance for them to get everything right and get the team on the same page.
The biggest obstacle for Pittsburgh will be potential road series against Washington, New Jersey and Buffalo. Pittsburgh finished the year 0-8-2 against Wash and NJ, and was also 0-3-1 against the top 4 teams in the West. That does not look good heading into the later rounds of the playoffs.
Crosby is known to rise to the occasion in big games, and has been a force this year. The only
way Pittsburgh can repeat as Stanley Cup champions is with increased play by their other 2 big stars, Fleury and Malkin. Fleury has been very solid in the playoffs the last 2 years and will need to be at his best this year. Malkin was a ghost in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs and pulled a disappearing act in the Olympics this past February. He will need to return to his form from last year, where he won the Con Smythe and lead the league in playoff scoring.
I hate to say it but I have to say no. On February 18th last year, they were 27-25-6 and in 10th place in the East before changing coaches to Dan Blysma. The Penguins then proceeded to go 18-3-3 and entered the playoffs as the hottest team in the NHL. They rode that momentum all the way to the Stanley Cup championship. They just don't seem to have that same spark this year.
This year, Marc-Andre Fleury resorted to his old ways of inconsistency. He can play unbelievable 1 night,
then terrible the next. Nothing showed this more than the shootout loss to Washington on March 24. Fleury played great for the entire game and the first 2 rounds of the shootout building a 2 goal lead. He then gave up 3 goals on 3 straight shots and the Pens only managed to leave with 1 point.Last years hero, Art Ross and Con Smythe trophy winner Evgeni Malkin, has been quiet this year as well. He only played in 67 games this year and managed only 77 points. The one bright spot is that he managed 4 points (2G, 2A) on Sunday against the Islanders. It is a shame because Sidney Crosby is having the best scoring year of his career, tallying 51 this year and tying Steven Stamkos for tops in the NHL. He managed to finish with 109 points (51G, 58A) this year, 3 points behind Vancouver's Henrik Sedin for the NHL lead.
The question will now be whether or not Pittsburgh can put it all together and make a strong push towards the cup. They did get a good draw in the first round against Ottawa. The Senators have been up and down all year, but good as of late. Pittsburgh has much better depth, especially up the middle and match up well against them. This is the perfect chance for them to get everything right and get the team on the same page.
The biggest obstacle for Pittsburgh will be potential road series against Washington, New Jersey and Buffalo. Pittsburgh finished the year 0-8-2 against Wash and NJ, and was also 0-3-1 against the top 4 teams in the West. That does not look good heading into the later rounds of the playoffs.
Crosby is known to rise to the occasion in big games, and has been a force this year. The only
way Pittsburgh can repeat as Stanley Cup champions is with increased play by their other 2 big stars, Fleury and Malkin. Fleury has been very solid in the playoffs the last 2 years and will need to be at his best this year. Malkin was a ghost in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs and pulled a disappearing act in the Olympics this past February. He will need to return to his form from last year, where he won the Con Smythe and lead the league in playoff scoring.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Writings on the Reg' 4/8
Welcome back to the Writings on the Reg. A weekly look at all things going on in the world of sports and beyond.
Writing this while watching Pirates-Dodgers on ESPN.com on a 60 second auto refresh I came to a conclusion. I don't know whether I am ready for a good baseball team in Pittsburgh, and I don't think the Pirates are either. Instead of making the decision to build the team with quality young players, they did what they always do. They went out and spent money on mediocre aging players to try to temporarily fill holes in the line-up. They spent $6M on a 36 year old closer (Octavio Dotel) and $5.3M on a 30 year old back-up shortstop (Bobby Crosby). By they way, they are their 2 highest paid players.
The correct way to build a team ,the way the Tampa Bay Rays were able to build an AL Pennant winning team, is with youth and a good farm system. The Pirates have neither.
There is only 1 marquee player in their farm system, 3B Pedro Alvarez. (Expect him to be called up shortly after June 1 if not earlier) Other than that, they do not have a player worth putting hope into the future with. Every year the Pirates make trades to try to get "prospects" and they seem to miss every time. Jeff Karstens was supposed to be a great prospect of a pitcher from the Yankees. In his second start with the Pirates he threw a 1 or 2 hitter. He is now in the minors.
Lets take a look at the other big problem, age. The pirates roster looks like a Dave Matthews Band crowd.
Player ages:
1B - Jeff Clement (26)
2B - Akinori Iwamura (31)
2B - Delwyn Young (27)
SS - Ronny Cedeno (27)
SS - Bobby Crosby (30)
3B - Andy Laroche (26)
OF- Garrett Jones (28)
OF - Lastings Milledge (25)
OF - Andrew McCutchen (23)
OF - Ryan Church (31)
C - Ryan Doumit (29)
Only Milledge and McCutchen are under the age of 26!! If you are building a franchise, you need young talent. Players start coming into their prime at 26, 27, 28. All of these players are peaking or have peaked. The only saving grace is if their starting rotation can pull it together this year and throw all season like they did in the first few months of 2009.
Player ages:
SP - Zach Duke (26)
SP - Paul Maholm (27)
SP - Ross Ohlendorf (27)
SP - Charlie Morton (26)
SP - Daneil McCutchen (27)
Duke, Maholm and Ohlendorf have had time to throw and develop. If they can continue to grow and improve, the Buccos have a shot at 81 wins this year.
Record: 2-1
Remaining wins for .500: 79
One other thing about this season is Garrett Jones. I am not convinced yet. As I pointed out above, he is an aging player. He just spent 6-8 years in the minors for a reason. His power came on as he got called up last year.
Current Stats
3 games:
.273 avg; 3 HRs; 6 RBI
.429 OBP
1.091 SLG
1.519 OPS
Off to a great start, but he went 0-3 today with 2 walks. Pitchers will start to throw around him due to lack of protection in the line-up.
Amount I am drinking the juice...10 %
Writing this while watching Pirates-Dodgers on ESPN.com on a 60 second auto refresh I came to a conclusion. I don't know whether I am ready for a good baseball team in Pittsburgh, and I don't think the Pirates are either. Instead of making the decision to build the team with quality young players, they did what they always do. They went out and spent money on mediocre aging players to try to temporarily fill holes in the line-up. They spent $6M on a 36 year old closer (Octavio Dotel) and $5.3M on a 30 year old back-up shortstop (Bobby Crosby). By they way, they are their 2 highest paid players.
The correct way to build a team ,the way the Tampa Bay Rays were able to build an AL Pennant winning team, is with youth and a good farm system. The Pirates have neither.
There is only 1 marquee player in their farm system, 3B Pedro Alvarez. (Expect him to be called up shortly after June 1 if not earlier) Other than that, they do not have a player worth putting hope into the future with. Every year the Pirates make trades to try to get "prospects" and they seem to miss every time. Jeff Karstens was supposed to be a great prospect of a pitcher from the Yankees. In his second start with the Pirates he threw a 1 or 2 hitter. He is now in the minors.
Lets take a look at the other big problem, age. The pirates roster looks like a Dave Matthews Band crowd.
Player ages:
1B - Jeff Clement (26)
2B - Akinori Iwamura (31)
2B - Delwyn Young (27)
SS - Ronny Cedeno (27)
SS - Bobby Crosby (30)
3B - Andy Laroche (26)
OF- Garrett Jones (28)
OF - Lastings Milledge (25)
OF - Andrew McCutchen (23)
OF - Ryan Church (31)
C - Ryan Doumit (29)
Only Milledge and McCutchen are under the age of 26!! If you are building a franchise, you need young talent. Players start coming into their prime at 26, 27, 28. All of these players are peaking or have peaked. The only saving grace is if their starting rotation can pull it together this year and throw all season like they did in the first few months of 2009.
Player ages:
SP - Zach Duke (26)
SP - Paul Maholm (27)
SP - Ross Ohlendorf (27)
SP - Charlie Morton (26)
SP - Daneil McCutchen (27)
Duke, Maholm and Ohlendorf have had time to throw and develop. If they can continue to grow and improve, the Buccos have a shot at 81 wins this year.
Record: 2-1
Remaining wins for .500: 79
One other thing about this season is Garrett Jones. I am not convinced yet. As I pointed out above, he is an aging player. He just spent 6-8 years in the minors for a reason. His power came on as he got called up last year.
Current Stats
3 games:
.273 avg; 3 HRs; 6 RBI
.429 OBP
1.091 SLG
1.519 OPS
Off to a great start, but he went 0-3 today with 2 walks. Pitchers will start to throw around him due to lack of protection in the line-up.
Amount I am drinking the juice...10 %
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