THE ANGRY PITTSBURGH FAN

More Striking Statistics On Your Buccos

2013-05-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Pirates didn't land until after 2am this morning but I am certain they had a much happier flight than the Tigers. With the 1-0 victory last night, it was the Buccos eighth shutout of the season tying them for the major league lead in that category along with the Cardinals. It was the Pirates' third 1-0 shutout in the last nine games. The pitching staff as a whole has been nothing but lights out. They rank second in the majors behind the Cardinals with a team ERA of 3.20. They are ranked second in the NL in strikeouts with 422, trailing only the Reds.

Jason Grilli's major league leading 21st save of the season last night was probably his best and most memorable one as he whiffed arguably the best 2, 3, and 4 hitters in the league. Hunter, Cabrera and Fielder.

If you rewind back to 2008, Tigers skipper Jim Leyland literally 'grilled' Jason Grilli. And I bet you it Fired Up The Grilli last night.

Bucco Tidbits:

The Pirates are 29-0 when leading after 8 innings this season, tied with the Rangers for the second best. Dating back to last year, the Pirates are 100-1 when leading after 8 innings.

A.J. Burnett enters tonight's game with a league leading 85 strikeouts.

A 'W' tonight would give the Bucs 18 wins in a month for the first time since 1992 when they went 21-8 in September of that month.

With Neil Walker's home run in the 11th inning last night, the Pirates have an extra-basehit in 47 consecutive games. The longest streak in the majors.

The Pirates catchers have thrown out 14 attempted base stealers his season. Consider this... They only threw out 19 all of last season.

Did You Know: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Neil Walker is the first Pirates player to hit a home run for the only run of an extra-inning game since Ed Ott hit an 11th inning home run on April 26, 1978

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Comeback Kids

2013-05-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

14 of the Pirates 27 wins this season have been of the comeback variety. They are tied with the Rangers and the Braves for the most in the majors. The pitching staff has been nothing but phenomenal in the month of May. They lead the majors with a 2.54 ERA and opponents are hitting .218 against them this month.

Their 27-18 record is the best start to a season since 1991, when that team went 30-15 in the first 45 games.

Tonight's Starter: Francisco Liriano has gone 11-5 with a 3.16 ERA against National League teams in his career.

Bucco Tidbits:

Since April 8, the Pirates are tied with the Yankees and Cardinals with the best record in baseball at 26-13.

The Pirates have produced a .299 average, 7 home runs and 35 RBI from the 4th spot of the batting order this season. Gaby Sanchez' .315 average ranks 4th among NL hitters from the four spot.

In the last 5 games, the Pirates starting pitching has gone 4-1 with a 2.30 ERA.

The Pirates left handed starting pitchers have gone 7-1 with a 2.61 ERA at PNC Park this season

Down On The Farm: Stetson Allie smacked 2 more home runs last night and now has 12 on the season. He is tied for second in the South Atlantic League. He is currently hitting .329 to go along with 35 RBI and a 1.032 OPS.

For The Love Of Baseball, Not Money...

2013-05-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

I like doing this every once in a while. The mega salary teams who insist they need to spend to win should look at the recent trends.

Look at the records of some of the high salary teams:

Los Angeles Dodgers: $216,597,577, Record 17-25

Philadelphia Phillies: $165,385,784, Record 21-23

Los Angeles Angels: $127,896,260, Record 17-27

Chicago White Sox: $119,073,277, Record 19-23

Toronto Blue Jays: $117,527,800, Record 17-26

The teams listed above are in the top 10 in the Major Leagues when it comes to overall team salary. The combined record of these teams are 91-124.

Look at the teams in the lower half when it comes to team overall salary:

Tampa Rays: $57,895, 272, Record 23-20

Oakland A's: $60,664,500, Record 23-22

Colorado Rockies: $71,924,071, Record 24-20

Cleveland Indians: $77,772,800, Record 25-17

Pittsburgh Pirates: $77,555,000, Record 26-18

The teams on the lower tier when it comes to team salary have a combined record of 121-97. This just proves that teams who spend mega money on top free agents are not a lock to succeed. You need to build your minor league system in order to succeed.

These are based on salaries for Major League Baseball players on 2013 Opening Day rosters and disabled lists.

Forget 82, How About 95 Wins?

2013-05-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

After passing the quarter pole of the season last night, the Bucs are 24-17. That puts them on pace to finish the season with a 95-67 record. Not to get overly excited about that because we know what happened the last couple of years. But with that being said, could you imagine?

Last night's victory over Milwaukee was the third in a row over the Brew crew. The last time the Pirates did that was in 2010.

Here are some more Bucco tidbits:

Since April 8, the Pirates have the second best record in the majors at 23-12.

Since dropping the first two series of the season, the Pirates have gone 7-2-2 in their last 11.

In his last 9 games, Clint Barmes is hitting .375 (12-34) with 2 home runs and 7 RBI. His OPS during that time is 1.006.

The Pirates pitching staff is third in the majors behind Washington and St. Louis with a 3.42 ERA.

The Astros are in town tonight starting a three game series. In the last 25 games with Houston played at PNC Park, the Pirates are 18-7.

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Striking Statistics On The Pirates

2013-05-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

On May 15 2012, the Pirates sat at 17-19, today they sit at 23-17, 3 1/2 games behind the division leading St. Louis Cardinals. Already an improvement or is it smoke and mirrors?

Well, to back up the case for an improved squad, here are some mind-blowing stats:

In the first inning of a game, Starling Marte is hitting .529 (18-34) and a 1.413 OPS.

Russell Martin is throwing out 38% of base stealers, second in the majors. A far cry from the basement dwellers in the category last year.

Since April 7, The Pirates are tied with Atlanta with an NL leading 42 home runs.

Through 50 games last year, the Pirates hit just 38 HR.

The Pirates pitching staff ranks 6th in the majors with a 3.48 ERA.

They also have 330 strike outs, second in the NL.

They have struck out 54 batters in the last 5 games.

Fire Up The Grilli: Jason Grilli is tied with Mariano Rivera for the major league lead in saves with 16. Grilli has struck out 29 batters in 17.2 ip this season.

Shut The Back Door: Since last season when leading after 6 innings they are 82-5. When leading after 8, they are 93-1. The last loss came on September 30th of last year.

We are coming up on the quarter pole of the season, so it is still early but they are looking good.

Pirates Plan On Changing Logo Next Season, What Is Your All-Time Favorite?

2013-02-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

The Pirates reportedly met with season ticket holders, sponsors, and regular fans this week for help picking a new logo. The current logo has been around since 1997....

There have been 14 different logos dating back to 1888. My favorite has to be the one from 1987-1996 which one person said it kind of looks like Jim Leyland.

The one thing that is for certain is they won't change the "P" on the hat.

Which is your favorite of all time? Leave comments below.

1888: "Alleghenys" Logo
1900–1906
1907
1908–1909
1915–1919
1921, 1932
1922
1923–1931
1933–1935
1936–1947
1948–1959
1960–1967
1968–1986
1987–1996
1997 – 2013
1997–2009: Alternate Logo
2010 – present: Alternate Logo

Pirates Sign Free Agent Pitcher Liriano To A 2 Year Deal

2012-12-21T10:48:00.001-08:00

The Pirates have signed left handed pitcher Francisco Liriano to a two-year 14 million dollar deal according to reports.

Liriano was 6-12 with a 5.34 ERA with the Twins and White Sox last year. The 29 year old had his best season in 2006 when he went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA. His numbers haven't been great in recent years but maybe a change from the American League to the National League will help him. New life so to speak. See A.J. Burnett.

Look at the recent starting pitching signings around the league:

Edwin Jackson, Cubs- 4 Years, $52 Million

Joe Blanton, Angels- 2 Years, $15 Million

Hiroki Kiroda, Yankees- 1 Year, $15 Million

Brandon McCarthy, Diamondbacks- 2 Years, $15 Million

If Liriano performs well, which he obviously has the potential to, this deal would be a steal. Only time will tell.

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Fire Up The Grilli: Pirates Re-sign Coveted Reliever

2012-12-06T07:09:00.002-08:00

The Pirates have re-signed free agent Jason Grilli to a two year deal somewhere between $3 and $3.5 million. Grilli struck out 90 batters in 59 innings last season, going 1-6 with a 2.90 ERA. At one point 10 teams had interest in the right handed set-up man.

The deal is pending a physical which shouldn't be an issue.

Pirates Catch Russell Martin

2012-11-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

The Pirates have signed former Yankees catcher Russell Martin to a 2 year 17 million dollar deal. He hit .211 for the Bombers last year with 21 home runs and 53 RBI. Despite the poor offensive numbers, it is a major upgrade at the position from last year. Last year Rod Barajas only threw out 6% of the attempted base stealers. Russell Martin threw out 24% of runners trying to swipe a bag.

His best offensive numbers came in 2007 with the Dodgers when he hit .293 with 19 HR and 87 RBI.

Russell Martin spoke to the NY Times this evening: “I’m really looking forward to going to the Pirates,” Martin said. “My boy A. J. Burnett is there and I really like the direction they are going with a lot of good young talent. It’s going to be fun.”

One scout last year had nothing but praise for the catcher Newark Star-Ledger: (Martin) has Huge impact on the pitching staff,” said the scout, who requested anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak about another organization’s player. “He makes all the starters use all their stuff. He has those guys believing they can throw any pitch in any count. He’s got a great setup behind the plate, so the umpires get a good view. He blocks balls in the dirt and encourages, no, demands guys throw their off-speed stuff down so hitters chase…”

“I see a guy who’s way more than a catcher who’s reading the scouting report and putting down fingers. I’ve seen games where he’s noticed, for example, that Ivan Nova’s changeup is particularly good and you sense he’s then deviating from the original game plan and working with what the pitcher has on that particular day.”

Another interesting thing about him is that he informed Team Canada that he would like to play shortstop for them in the WBC. He considers it his natural position since he played it during high school.

I like the signing, hopefully he can come out of the New York City fish bowl and play relaxed. You know, like A.J.

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Pirates Name Jay Bell Hitting Coach

2012-10-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Pirates have named former shortstop Jay Bell as their new hitting coach. He played 8 seasons with the Bucs. He hit .265 with 195 home runs in over 2000 games during his 18 year career. He won the 1993 Gold Glove Award breaking a 13 year streak by Cardinals great Ozzie Smith.

In 2001, Bell scored the game winning run in game 7 of the World Series on a ball hit by Luis Gonzales while playing for the Diamondbacks.

As a Pirate, Bell was known as an expert for his bunting which should help a team that has struggled at that area for some time.

Other coaching changes: Rick Sofield has been named the team's new first base coach while Luis Silverio has been named the Senior Advisor for Latin American Operations.

Did You Know? Since Jay Bell had sacrifice hits in 1990, no MLB player has hit more than 30 since. And the only guy to hit 30 was Jay Bell in 1991.

Here is a video of a Grand Slam that Bell hit in 1999 that won Arizona fan Gylene Hoyle one million dollars.

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The Angry Fan: For The Pirates It's All About Moneyball

2012-10-04T15:30:00.001-07:00

This is why I get sick and tired hearing that Bob Nutting doesn't spend money on free agents... It doesn't matter how much money you spend on free agents, it's about developing your system. The Pirates haven't been able to do that under the current regime. Neal Huntington, Kyle Stark, and Greg Smith haven't been able to so it's time for them to go. I think one or all of them will be fired regardless of what Pirates' president Frank Coonelly had to say in his statement.

Look at the teams that are in the 2012 Post Season:

St. Louis, Atlanta, New York Yankees, Oakland, Detroit, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Washington, Baltimore and Texas.

Only 5 of the 10 playoff teams have team payrolls that exceed over $100 million, 4 of them are hovering around $80 million, and then there are the Oakland A's who are at $55 million. It's not about the money you spend, it's about how you spend it. Even when you do spend on free agents, you get Clint Barmes and Rod Barajas. So it's about evaluating talent, which falls on Huntington as well.

MLB Salaries by team

I don't know about you, but I'm rooting for the A's this post-season.

Watch Out For That Deer...

2012-10-01T12:40:00.001-07:00

Watch out for that deer! A group of guys were skateboarding downhill somewhere in Colorado when all of a sudden a deer runs on to the road and collides with one of the skateboarders. Neither the deer or skateboarder suffered any major injuries.

20 Years!!

2012-10-01T11:06:00.002-07:00

This video will either make you sad or angry... I had all sorts of emotions running through me when I watched it. It's a sad day for this Buccos fan, after witnessing the biggest collapse in Major League history and investing all of my time and energy in this club, I am completely pissed off.

I'm Getting Angry Again...

2012-09-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

The Pirates were doing so well for most of the season that I didn't have much to be angry about but in typical Pirates fashion a collapse was waiting to happen.

The Pirates have gone 6-19 in September.

The have gone 13-33 since a season-high 16 games over .500 at 63-47 on August 8

They are 35-73 after July 31 the last two seasons

I don't want to put in the number "20" referring to the consecutive losing seasons... Just go 5-1 the rest of the way, technically it's not a losing season...

81-81

Finish it!!

Pirates Offense Picking Up Steam...

2012-06-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

The Pirates offense seems to be picking up some steam in June... A nice turnaround from the bad month of May when they batted .210 25 HR 88 RBI 89 runs as a team.

As of today they are batting .257 with 20 HR 72 RBI and 75 Runs as a team in June...

Individually:

Pedro Alvarez in June .214 4 HR 10 RBI -- May .207 3 HR 15 RBI
Neil Walker in June .318 2 HR 11 RBI -- May .238 2 HR 11 RBI
Andrew McCutchen in June .305 3 HR 12 RBI -- May .360 8 HR 18 RBI
Casey McGehee in June .366 3 HR 9 RBI -- May .104 0 HR 3RBI
Garett Jones in June .310 2 HR 10 RBI -- May .206 2 HR 7 RBI
Jose Tabata in June .302 3RBI -- May .206 2 HR 3 RBI
Alex Presley in June .232 3 HR 5 RBI -- May .079 14 games
Clint Barmes in June .244 1 HR 7 RBI -- May .189

Jose Tabata was recently called into Clint Hurdle's office during the Baltimore series, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reported that he reamed him out for "playing to not get hurt". Hurdle said "Go play! Just play the game! Look, you can save yourself from getting hurt right here, or you can save yourself from getting hurt in Indianapolis. Your choice."

Since the talking to, he is batting .368 (7-19)

On This Date In Pirates History: On June 19, 1972 The Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 13-3 at Three Rivers Stadium. Doc Ellis would pick up his sixth win, Roberto Clemente would go 3-5 with a HR and 2 doubles.

Pirates Could Lose Morton To Season Ending Surgery

2012-06-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Pirates RHP Charlie Morton already on the DL with right elbow inflammation, could have season ending Tommy John surgery... The Post Gazette is reporting that he tweaked the injury during a bullpen session on Sunday.

Rehabilitation after Tommy John surgery is typically one year, players usually can begin throwing 16 weeks after.

It's not known who will take Morton's spot on the roster, but in all likelihood it will be Rudy Owens who is 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA at Triple A Indy. He has close to a 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Tonight the Pirates wrap up a three game set against the Orioles. Erik Bedard will get the start for the Bucs.

Will June 7, 2012 Become The Defining Moment Of The Season For The Bucs?

2012-06-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Is this year's turning point June 7, 2012? I have a feeling it might be. How much confidence do you think the Pirates have gained from how they won last night in Cincinnati? A blown save by Joel Hanrahan never phased them. The pesky Bucs kept battling and beat arguably the best reliever in the Majors, Aroldis Chapman, who hasn't given up a run all season prior to last night. It was the first time since August of 2011 that an opposing team had back to back hits against the flame throwing lefty.

What's more amazing about the victory is that the two guys who had the back to back hits for the Pirates were batting under .200. Clint Barmes and Michael McKenry.

What's lost in last night's win is the performance by Pirates' rookie reliever Jared Hughes, who took over for Kevin Correia in the sixth inning as the Bucs starter had given up three consecutive singles to put runners on first and third with no one out and tie the game at three. Hughes would get Todd Frazier to ground into a fielders choice, Ryan Ludwick to strike out, and Devin Mesoraco to fly out.

Bucco Tidbits:

In the last 10 games, Garrett Jones is batting .333 (11-33) with 3 homers, and 7 RBI

Neil Walker is batting .333 in his last 11 games, (14-42) with a homer and 8 RBI

Joel Hanrahan had his second blown save in 16 chances, he previously had 10 saves in a row. An interesting note, in both of his blown saves, the Bucs managed win both games

I'll leave you with this from manager Clint Hurdle: "This is probably as satisfying a win as I've had since I've been here".

Is The Pirates Number 1 Pick Worth The Risk?

2012-06-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

It may be a risky pick as far as sign-ability, but the Pirates had to take Stanford RHP Mark Appel with the 8th overall pick. A guy who was predicted to go number 1 overall to the Astros, landed in the Bucs' lap for their taking and that's just what they did.

Appel went 10-1 with a 2.27 ERA this season with Stanford. His fastball has been clocked at 97 mph, he also throws a plus change-up and an above average slider.

The team has $2.9 million to spend on Appel. That leaves them with $3.6 million on the rest of the picks. The Bucs can go over that amount, but they will face fines and or loss of future draft picks. I think the Bucs will do whatever it takes to get him signed, and if that means facing penalties, so be it. It will ultimately mean that the Pirates brass would be sending Bud Selig a message saying we don't care about your new labor agreement, so stick it up your ass.

In the compensation round, or the so called sandwich round, where teams are compensated picks for losing free agents, with the 45th pick, the Pirates took Texas Tech outfielder Barrett Barnes. The Pirates received that pick because they lost Ryan Doumit to the Twins.

Barnes batted .325 this past season, led the team with 9 homers, and drove in 49 runs. In 2010, he was the Big 12 freshman of the year.

Bucco Tidbits:

The Bucs begin a three game series against the Reds tonight in Cincinnati. They have 12 wins over the Reds the last two seasons, including two of three last week

A.J. Burnett will take the hill for the Bucs. The current Reds roster is hitting .154 against him

Since Great American Ballpark opened in 2003, the Pirates as a team are batting .269 there

Time For The Pirates To Flip The Script Against The Brewers And Take A Pass On Yelling Uncle

2012-06-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

The Pirates will visit the "House of Horrors" AKA Miller Park tonight for the first time in 2012. The place has been anything but friendly to the Pirates since 2007. In their last 42 trips to Milwaukee, the Pirates are 4-38. Overall, they are 20-58 and they have been outscored 464-294 in those 78 games. The Brewers have had 10 games in the past 5 seasons that they have scored in double digits against the Bucs.

I'll let you catch your breath for a second...

They have been shutout by the Brew crew 8 times since 2007.

Tonight's pitcher, Kevin Correia will face southpaw Randy Wolf. Correia was 11-3 on the road last season, with two of his road losses coming against the Brewers.

I'm trying to be optimistic, but with everything stacking up against the Pirates, it's hard for me to think they will turn the tide in Milwaukee. I realize they are without Prince Fielder, but it's going to be difficult for them to erase the vivid memories of the dreadful trips to Miller Park.

The Most Embarrasing Stat Yet On The Pirates

2012-05-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

I came across this utterly embarrassing statistic this morning. The Pirates rank 150th in runs scored among all 150 professional baseball teams Class A and up that are currently playing. They currently have 123 runs on the season, last in the majors. The Major League average is 177 at this point in the season.

They are currently on pace for 474 runs. The lowest runs scored in a season was by the 1908 Cardinals, who only crossed the plate 372 times. That team finished with a record of 49-105.

What makes the above statistic even more fascinating is that the Bucs sit at 20-22 and are only three games behind the first place Cardinals.

Tonight the Bucs will face knuckleballer R.A Dickey. A common phrase for hitting a knuckleball is "if it's low, let it go; if it's high, let it fly". Hopefully the guys take that advice. We know Josh Harrison follows it as he is 4-7 (.571) against him.

The Pirates will counter with James McDonald who has been nothing short of a staff ace. McDonald is 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA and 50 strikeouts on the season.

NOffense: Pirates Walk A Very Fine Mendoza Line

2012-05-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

The Pirates have a choice to make on Nate McLouth, who is hitless in his last 19 at bats. Including an 0-4 performance yesterday where he whiffed three times. It will also more than likely move him closer to being outright released. Clint Hurdle spoke about the dismal offense after the series finale in Detroit on Sunday. "Right now, we've got one hitter that's met or exceeded expectations, and that's Andrew McCutchen."

The Bucs as a team have struck out 345 times while only walking a Major League low 88 times. Let me put that into perspective for you. The Major League average for strikeouts is 304, walks 131.

They have a .218 team batting average, only the Oakland A's are below them at .215. Despite all of the low offensive numbers, they are only 3 games below .500 (19-22) and trail the first place Cardinals by 3.5 games. Help isn't going to come within the organization, as Indianapolis, the Triple-A affiliate of the Bucs has been struggling with the bats as well.

Andrew McCutchen said, "Look at what we've done so far without really having our offense yet, We know the pitching's going to be there. If we can get the offense going, even just a little, we'll be unstoppable."

But, we all know that won't happen until Neil Huntington finds away to bring in some bats.

Barmes... Bench Or Bust?

2012-05-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

Could interleague play be the spark that Clint Barmes needs to get back on track? In 66 career games against the American League, Barmes has a .298 average, 5 HR, 19 Doubles and 35 RBI. Then you look and see what he has done against tonight's opponent, the Detroit Tigers, and he is 1-15 .067.

The question is, should Barmes start or come off the bench? This year, despite his measly .148 batting average when he is in the starting lineup, he is 2-3 with an OPS of 1.667 as a pinch hitter. Of course that is a small sample size, however he has been better off the bench throughout his entire career, with a .278 batting average. That's a full 30 points higher than his BA as a starter.

Overall, since interleague play began in 1997, the Pirates are 81-130 against the American League. Last season they fared a lot better than they usually do going 8-7, including two out of three wins against the Tigers.

*Bucco Tidbit:

In his career against the Washington Nationals, Andrew McCutchen is batting .441 (38-86) with 10 homers. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that's the highest batting average for any player against any National League opponent over the past four years (minimum 75 at-bats).

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What This Year's Bucs Have In Common With The 1965 Team

2012-05-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

I was chatting it up with someone on twitter about how crazy the game of baseball is. A lot of crazy plays, crazy stats and so on. In a year where offense is down across the majors, I decided to do a little digging on the run scoring ability of this year's Bucs. With yesterday's win over the Marlins, it took the Pirates 35 games to score 100 runs this season, the most since 1965 when they did it in 34. That year's Bucs team finished 90-72. Let that sink in for a minute...
Pirates Lineup On May 21, 1965

Through 34 Games W: 10 L: 24

Finished season 90-72

Bob Bailey LF

Manny Mota CF

Roberto Clemente RF

Donn Clendenon 1B

Gene Freese 3B

Bill Mazeroski 2B

Gene Alley SS

Jim Pagliaroni C

Vern Law P

Now if you look at the 2012 Bucs' pitching, they are second in the Majors with a team ERA of 3.12. Only the Nationals are ahead of them with an amazing 2.77 team ERA. Right now the Pirates sit at 17-18 on the season. Seven of those losses were by one run. The problem with this team comes from the inability to execute offensively. Running into outs, not plating a run with runners in scoring position and less than two outs, etc. If the Bucs offense can find a way to scrape four or more runs together in a game they will more than likely win. As of today, they are 11-1 when plating more than four runs in a game.

Just imagine if this team was more consistent at the plate. Because the one thing that is certain, is that the pitching is there. Just hit baby, hit.

Mind Blowing Bucco Stats

2012-05-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Check out these crazy stats for the Buccos:

Swinging Away: When the Pirates swing at the first pitch of an AB, they are batting .338 with 6 HR and 25 RBI. We've seen Jose Tabata do that a lot lately and when he does, he is batting .316.

The Epitome Of 'Hitting Is Contagious': When the Pirates win, they are batting .268 as a team, but when they lose they are batting a staggering .183.

The Magic Number Is 2: 2 runs that is... If they score 2 or more runs a game, they are 16-6. When they score less than 2 runs a game, they are 0-12.

Where Is The Timely Hitting? When the bases are loaded, as a team the Bucs are batting an ugly .158 with 7 RBI. For example, Friday night against the Astros, they had numerous chances to break open the game. They had the bases loaded in the sixth with nobody out and Tabata struck out, McLouth popped out, and McCutchen struck out. It happened earlier in the game as well, after Tabata tripled with nobody out in the fourth and they weren't successful driving him in.

Young Guns: Age ain't nothing but a number. You got that right. Good or bad, here are the numbers - Players in the age group of 25 or younger for the Bucs are batting .253. Ages 26-30 are hitting .219. 31 and older have an average of .186. With a couple of the young guns also hitting in the minors, (Gorkys Hernandez, .273 2 HR 14 RBI 6 SB and Starling Marte .268 2 HR 11 RBI 9 SB) you would think Nate McLouth's days are numbered.

Looking Ahead: The Pirates start a 7 game road trip tonight against the Miami Marlins and starter Anibal Sanchez. The Bucs have a team batting average of .173 against him. In 3 career starts, Sanchez is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA against the Pirates. The Buccos will counter with Brad Lincoln.

Is Pedro Back?

2012-05-04T07:05:00.001-07:00

Pedro Alvarez was batting .067 on April 20 while racking up the strikeouts at an unbelievable pace. As a matter of fact in his first 30 at bats of the season he struck out 15 times. Half of his plate appearances ended with a strike out.

Yesterday, in the series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, he hit a two run dinger which gave him his third home run in four games, not to mention giving his team the lead. Since April 20th he has been on a tear, batting .400 and now his average sits at .257 with 7 homers and 14 RBI.

According to hitting coach Gregg Ritchie, Pedro's new found success at the plate can be attributed to focusing on going the other way by visualizing right center as his foul line. Pedro Alvarez is now tied with 5 other players for the second most home runs in the NL with seven, behind Matt Kemp who has 12.