Edgy MD

Using six healthy pitchers in a game before giving up your first run. Terry's auditioning for a job managing the WBC team.

Don't support him pulling Familia there. Would've given him at least one more batter. You hate to see a guy get bailed out so fast when he has a six-run lead. Give him a chance to pitch out of it.

Nice to see a lot of these young pitchers --- same ones we saw in that 16-1 show --- making a mark in this one. And... as I type that, Andy Mac triples past the glove of Freddy Lewis.

Canada qualifies behind a homer from Adam Loewen.

Frayed Knot wrote: - It's Travis Snider, not Todd. But, really, is there any difference between naming a kid Travis vs Todd? Even as I typed that, I'm thinking, "Man, don't call him Todd."

The Pirates season has been a funky sandwich. A nice juicy pile of goodness went into the middle, but it came between two moldy crusty chunks of bread. Through the extended top of the season, their pitching was there day in and day out, but the hitting was almost non-existent. It was a little bit of Andrew McCutcheon and nothing else. Then when the warm weather started, the bats heated up, and McCutcheon became an MVP candidate, and the Bucs looked like a surprise contender. Despite two decades of dashed hopes, Pirates fans exhibited some irrational optimism when they found their team in first place on July 4 (triggering the "Pittsburgh's perfect, Peter. May I call you Pete?" thread). But it's been a grind since then, and the Pirates have slid downhill in the second half --- not as spectacularly as the Mets and Indians perhaps, but certainly highly disappointingly. (Three straight adverbs --- yes!) The Pirates haven't quite been eliminated as the Mets have, and McCutcheon hasn't quite disappeared from MVP contention as David Wright has, but as the team sits at 75-77, folks have definitely (if not vocally) adjusted their goals, and hope mostly for their first winning (or .500) season since forever (or 1992). Like the Mets, there's a lot for Bucco fans to be optimistic about. And lots to be not so opty about. The good news begins with Awesome Andrew McCutcheon. You see them coming up short this year --- McC's fourth --- and wonder if they're missing the opportunity to make the jump to big time before he hits free agency, but then you remember that the Bucs had the foresite to tie this guy up back in March, before his super year shot his price tag up. He's theirs through 2017, with a 2018 option. Psych! Downside is that it's still a little unclear who the pieces are that are going to join him as the foundation. Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, and... Jered Hughes? It's hard, this game. I praise Neal Huntington for his foresight with McCutcheon, and I like to think he has a handle on things, but then I read about his assistant GM, and I wonder... specifically I wonder how Omar Minaya missed this guy. He then stresses developing �boys into men� for the purpose of reaching the majors, listing three points: �Dream and be creative like a Hippie. Have the discipline and perseverance of a Boy Scout. Be crazy and take risks like the Hells Angels.� How about "Run the bases like you've been there before." Not the kind of numbers you want to put up when baserunners are hard enough to come by as it is. Anyhow, let's talk like about Pirates, if not talk like Pirates. Catching: Rod Barajas. You know him, you love him, and he inspires you when you're not sure if your libido is going to serve you. He's a solid defensive guy that is fat and slow even by catching standards. Maybe Ramon Castro is still slower. Maybe. But what you want, he's got, but it might be hard to handle. And that's puncher's power. Come into his wheelhouse, and he can still turn on a pitch with all his meaty self. Other than that, he's not much of an offensive threat. First Base: Garrett Jones. Utility corner man played all over the field and really settled in after they cleared Casey McGehee (cutest name in baseball) off of first base for him. Is slugging .500 in trying to shed the platoon label at 31. Good on him. Double plus good that his ascension let the Bucs send McGehee to the Yankees. Casey was OPS'ing at .674, which at least suggests a big leaguer. Since joining the Bombers, he's knocked it to the tune of .484, which, frankly, would make Jason Bay blush. Second Base: Neil Walker. Switch hitter, started slowly, but has rallied back to his usual 110-ish OPS+ level. Medium power, fan favorite. Missed a few weeks during P'burgh's second half slumpfest with some back tightness. Third Base: Pedro �lvarez: Dominican-born and Horace Mann-educated, this lefty slugger has had a heckuva breakthrough year. No Panda-body either. Good athlete, and he's been clutchy, too, doing as much as anybody to pull up on the stick during the Pirates' free fall. Shortstop: Clint Barmes. The journeyman makes a lot of outs (.266 OBP), but has recently been seen batting second. No way to salvage your season, Clint Hurdle. Leftfield: Starling Marte. Rookie with a beautiful name, recently took the job from Alex Presley, who was in a deep sophomore slump, but accountability works. Solid minor league hitter. Gets his share of steals, but gets caught too. Centerfield: Andrew McCutchen. League placement: WAR: 1st Offensive WAR: 1st Batting Average: 2nd On-Base Percentage: 2nd Slugging Percentage: 3rd OPS: 2nd Runs: 1st Hits: 1st Total Bases: 2nd Homers: Tied-6th RBI: 10th Singles: 3rd OPS+: 2nd Runs Created: 2nd Extra Base Hits: 10th Times on Base: 1st The list goes on and it's a beautiful splash of black ink. He's having the type of year that, even if he doesn't objectively look particularly good in a swimsuit, makes people say, "Let's get some pictures of him in a swimsuit." RF: [crossout]Todd[/crossout] Travis Snider. Injuries and ineffectiveness have limited the season of Jose Tabata, and the Buckshots are looking at this guy. You may remember him from Toronto. A meaty white lefty goon --- a shorter Lucas Duda, maybe, at 6'0", 235. He's a former Blue Jay first rounder that the Pirates gave up Brad Lincoln for, in a swap of first-rounders who certainly aren't washouts, but no longer have the dew on them, so to speak. Pitching tonight is Kyle McPherson. It's his second career start, but I don't really trust pitchers named Kyle. A good strikeout guy prone to walks sometimes. He's from Alabama. He's mostly gotten it done as a big leaguer so far, but I suspect he's like Parnell and profiles as a reliever. Tomorrow is Wandy Rodriguez. The Pirates traded for him for help down the stretch, and he's been middling for them so far. He's been mostly middling through his career, but his strikeouts are way down from his modest heyday, and I suspect that any success he's had as a Bucco has been luck. Let's light him up. Wednesday is another greenhorn in Jeff Locke, a lefty they got from the Braves in the McLouth deal. Hasn't done anything in the bigs in eight starts over two seasons, but was real good in AAA this year. Is nicknamed "The Redstone Rocket." Is only 24 and looks 15. Throws hard. Has placement issues. Thursday is Dickey Day, and His Knuckleness is opposed by veteran grinder Kevin Correia. Unspectacular career, but he doesn't beat himself. Another vet whose strikeout numbers are way down. He got knocked out of the rotation for a bit during their desperate adjustment period but he's back now. Dickey gave up one run in seven innings against the Pirates back in May, striking out 11. Good year for chin-fuzzy closer Joel Hanrahan, but I don't like closers, and this guy is a real bad influence on the Dillon Gees of the world. Charlie Morton and Gustavo Nunez make up the DL, but it's September, and there's hurt people that nobody bothers DL-ing because they don't need the roster room. Ex-Mets include Rod Barajas, Clint Hurdle calling the shots, Ray Searage coaching the pitchers. Our 2009 bench coach Dave Jauss is now a Pittsburgh scout. Despite playing four games, we miss A.J. Burnett, who's got $50 million of Yankee money in his pocket. Love him for that.

Oh, fucking wait. These cards are in this thread because I was supposed to do a KTE. SHIT!

I was thinking it was "7 Down: Where the Flushing nine play (7 ltr.)." Or better yet, "Minny first-sacker... what's that fucking guy's name?"

What really killed me was a guest in the booth on Autism Awareness Day. It was more or less his third trip to the booth, and he was caught up in his austism spiel, and the Mets were in a bunting situation. The guy was comfortable enough that he felt it OK to offer a baseball observation, and he said something along the lines of, "I've done a lot of the reading about bunting and I have to say that I'm compelled by the notion that the outs you give up bunting costs you a lot of runs." Gary snorted back a "Double plays cost you a lot of runs too." That's true, of course, but his tone wasn't along the lines of "On the other hand...," but rather, "Stick to what you know, Autism Boy." I'm used to him being more or less genial (and I imagine he is), but it was pretty stunning to see him give the guy the high hat.

I never realized how rarely Pittsburgh wore "Pittsburgh" on their jerseys. A lot of those cards are shot on the road (Shea, usually), but say "Pirates." My God, you got fat.

My question is how much he developed that persona to suck up to Keith and Ron.

Current attendance, as per baseball-reference: 2,141,049. If that's accurate through 77 dates, the total through 81 projects to 2,252,272. Seventeen of our voters came in below that and six above it. Congratulations to our lone 2.3 million voter. You (if projections hold) will have come closest.

That wasn't a contest, so much as a mere poll.

Seems like they're all trying to get him below the belt.

�I�m happy to be playing for Israel, but it�s kind of bizarre, too. No one from my family has even been there." �Josh Satin, New York Times "If we only could get a nice Jewish girl to marry Albert Pujols, he could be at first base for us.� �Peter Kurz, the secretary general of the Israel Association of Baseball, New York Times

Thinking of Saturday's game, I wonder how the candidates compare with regard to their bullpens (a) blowing their leads, and ( letting their runners score.

Keith's a smart jock, but a proud jock. He'll examine received wisdom, but only after you force him to. It would be cool if Gary forced him to more, but Gary can be a suckup with regard to his jock buddies.

Very, very comparable to Dickey. Being purely objective, I'd vote Dickey #1 based on the slight edge in innings, and the shutouts. I also would even consider the number of wins relevant, given they are so equal in every other category. And if I can't come up with reasonable reasons to go to Dickey, I may have to give up the whole objectivity thing.

Hey, Boston, stop helping the Yankees.

Definitely. Play the number that pays off big.

I wonder how horrific it would be. I sometimes think we aren't horrified by cultures we're born into, even if we disagree with them. No matter how repulsive from an objective distance, to us, it's just the sea we spring from.

Current standings. Percentages represent the final 162-game percentage predicted at the top of the season. Records represent the final records predicted, adjusted to the current number of games played, rounded off to nearest whole numbers, so the percentages won't be an exact match for the records. PosterWLPctGames offFman99-E11537.75946Willets Point-E9656.63027Edgy DC-E9161.59922metsguyinmichigan-E8270.53713ceetar-E8072.52511John Cougar Luncbucket-E7973.51910metsmarathon-E7775.5068Ashie62-E7775.5068themetfairy-E7676.5007Rockin Doc-E7676.5007Transmonk7379.4814MFS627379.4814bfmc17280.4753Benjamin Grimm7181.4692LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr7181.4692HahnSolo7082.4631G-Fafif6983.4570metirish6983.45702012 Mets6983.454--Vic Sage6884.4441The Second Spitter6686.4323Nymr6686.4323Chad Ochoseis6587.4264Gwreck-E5993.38910

Young 3.45 Hairston 1.59 Wright 1.54 Parnell 0.83 RRamirez 0.77 Torres 0.54 Acosta 0.43 Lewis 0.40 Baxter 0.35 Murphy 0.06 Duda 0.03

The idea that clapping and celebrating is childish and unprofessional is childish and unprofessional. As far as I'm concerned, if it happens in the dugout, it's fine. Unless you're yelling vulgarities out of the dugout, you're sharing joy with your teammates and keeping it in the family. Nobody is being "shown up." Get a grip, Chavez. You were an Athletic once. The whole free word celebrates when people score against the Yankees.

Blowing a four-run lead in extra innings to the Yankees? I expect that nonsense from the Twins... and the Mets... but come on, Oakland.