Nutting does homework

Dejan Kovacevic on the new, quiet leadership of the master fly-fisherman:

Nutting is not the type, his acquaintances inside and outside the Pirates' organization say, to make business decisions without first-hand information or experience. Although he has been the Pirates' chairman of the board since 2003, it was not until January that he supplanted McClatchy as principal owner. And it is from that point alone that he considers himself to have been in charge.

Since then, in addition to a surprising trip to the Dominican Republic in May to examine why the Pirates have fared so poorly at producing Latin American talent in the past decade, some close to Nutting say he has become deeply -- albeit quietly -- engrossed in many aspects of the team's operations, asking questions and seeking accountability along the way.

It does not sound like Nutting is much upset with Littlefield or Tracy, but Kovacevic does hint here that Nutting might find a qualified mentor and follow his advice. You know what that means ... FAX in your resumés. Sludgeworm's long career at the wastewater treatment plant will be hard to challenge, but you never know who will make what cut in the process.

Full story here.

Game 86: Cubs at Pirates

Marquis and Maholm at seven. I will look for exiting CEO Kevin McClatchy behind home plate. Those big sunglasses will shield our view of his tears, I imagine.

McClatchy to resign

At the end of the year, the P-G reports.

Beer dream

If I was the coach of this team, I'd take that 3 of 4 from Milwaukee and give the team the worst ear-blistering they've ever experienced. I'd make them sorry they chose baseball as a career. How do you take 3 of 4 from the best team in the National League and then wind up nine games under .500?

There would be a lot of profanity in my ear-blistering.

Game 85: Brewers at Pirates

Gorzelanny vs. Sheets, starting soon. LaRoche bats third.

Get Michael Bourn?

There are reports the Phillies might trade rookie centerfielder Michael Bourn for pitching help. For example, there's Steven Miller for the Morning Call Online. Ken Rosenthal also reported Bourn could go to leverage their glut of quality outfielders.

The Pirates got some love from the fans for acquiring Adam LaRoche. If the Phillies would part with this good-OBP small-ballin' basestealer for pitching help, I'd guess the Littlefield would be sitting around, waiting for the Phillies to return his calls.

Bourn or no Bourn, I wonder what other later-July expectations, predictions, or recommendations you might have.

And for the record, I am pro-Bourn and think he'd make a good addition to this team.

Game 84: Brewers at Pirates

Bellowing there groan'd
A noise as of a sea in tempest torn
By warring winds. The stormy blast of Snell
With restless fury drives the spirits on
Whirl'd round and dash'd amain with sore annoy.

Vargas and Snell at four.

Burnett to see Dr. Andrews

For a second opinion, the P-G reports.

Game 83: Brewers at Pirates

Youman vs. Capuano, starting now.

Torres calls DL a liar, demands trade

Salomon Torres is mad as hell, Dejan Kovacevic reports:

"... I'm just tired of being treated like this. I'm tired of the lies. I gave this team everything. I bought a house in Pittsburgh to be part of the city. But, if you're going to lie to me, trade me."

Strange story. Sully charges DL duped him into signing a cheap contract by "strongly suggesting" the Bucs would rent one of Torres' Dominican baseball academies. The Bucs declined, and Torres filed a grievance in March. Now Sully claims the Bucs have delayed his rehab longer than necessary to retaliate.

It's hard to sympathize here with Torres, who did not have an agent for these negotiations, got nothing in writing, and apparently took the word of a well-known Master Liar. Furthermore, I can't see why the team would unnecessarily delay Torres' return, given the dire situation in the bullpen where Kuwata and Wasdin are trotted out in high-leverage situations.

Fallout: Torres is alienated and has probably just diminished his trade value, thanks to DL.

Duke to see Dr. Andrews

For a second opinion, the P-G reports.

Honest competition

The Mighty MJD on honest competition, jerkwheats, institutional loafing, and the threat to baseball's integrity that is Bob Nutting (link via WHYGAVS).

Game 82: Brewers at Pirates

Van Benschoten vs. Suppan, 7:05 PM EDT.

Haloscan has been having problems all day, so comments have not been working.

Duke's elbow

No dye leakage on the arthrogram, so Duke's elbow ligaments are not torn, the P-G reports. Duke will rest for two weeks and could be back in early August.

Duke and Duffy on DL

Tests on Duke's sore elbow will be done tomorrow, the AP reports. Youman will start in Duke's place. Duffy was also placed on the DL, replaced by utilityman Matt Kata, the P-G reports.

Game 81: Nationals at Pirates

Maholm vs. Bacsik, starting now.

Protest 1, Nutting 0

Only about 100 people actually left PNC, the AP reports, confirmed by Pat (who was one of those ~100). The PG's Robert Dvorchak estimates about 1,000 left their seats. Pat's summary at WHYGAVS estimates 2-5,000, in which Pat declares Nutting victorious.

While I'm disappointed more people didn't walk out or at least get up for an inning, I think the protest had already accomplished its primary goal before the game even started: increasing awareness of the front office failure. Without the protest, Baseball Tonight doesn't devote several minutes to discussing the front office incompetence. Passan would have never written the "Nutting on MLB's teat" piece, and an AP story on the protest and the McNutting/DL losing streak doesn't run nationwide. Charlie wouldn't have written his pre and post protest thoughts, and Pat's uncle wouldn't have sat him down and set him straight. Bottom line: Pirate fans win, Nutting loses. Nutting might be an all-world fly-fisherman and businessman, but in any discussion involving baseball and with his current track record, Bob Nutting is a Loser.

Game 80: Walkout Night

For a change, I will find delight in shutting off the game early. I expect to do so right after the first pitch of the third inning.

I've tried this turn-it-off stuff, in disgust, about 300 times over the last three seasons. Every time I turn it back on, the Pirates still suck.

I doubt the TV or the radio people will pay any attention, even if the entire stadium is cricket-chirpin' empty for twenty minutes. And since I will turn it off myself, I'd have no way of knowing how it went down myself.

So all you fans at the game--please document what you see and hear. Expect mad web traffic to the best collection of photos and anecdotes.

Big toast for Dock Ellis around five.

Then it's Bergmann and Gorzelanny at seven.

Nutting on MLB's teat

The protest has already succeeded in attracting national media coverage: AP story here. And Yahoo's Jeff Passan:

Pirates fans have every reason to be mad, and what stings so much is their limited options. Stop buying tickets? Nutting will just stay on MLB's teat – and, with the decreased local revenue, have an excuse for doing so. Force a change in upper management? Littlefield should have been canned two years ago.

Dock Ellis joins protest

The 1971 World Series champ to speak at the pregame Fans for Change protest: Dock Ellis. The Trib's Rob Biertempfel reports.

Game 79: Nationals at Pirates

Chico vs. Snell, 7:05 PM EDT.

"Pssst...
Hey Chico we got a message for ya...
Vamos Vamos Muchacho
from Alphabet City all the way A to Z, Dead, Head

Go straight to Snell."

All hail the protest

The Pirates have responded to the media interest in Saturday's protest by instructing employees to not mention the protest, not televise it, and to delete comments about it on pirates.com. Bob Smizik relates and opines on the Pirates efforts to black out the walkout. Charlie at Bucs Dugout has an excellent post about his thoughts on the protest.

I'm pro-protest. I think the good of attracting more local and national attention to the record-setting mismanagement of the Bucs outweighs the bad of protesters having to actually pay a small fee to protest.

This is Dave's Team Now

Wilbur Miller at IrateFans on DL's "myopic focus on the bullpen."

Game 78: Pirates at Marlins

Olsen vs. Duke, 12:05 PM EDT.

Game 77: Pirates at Marlins

Mitre vs. Van Benschoten, starts now. Doumit catching, so Ronny will have to call the game from the bench.

Smizik on Tracy

Bob Smizik is most disappointed in Jim Tracy and offers advice for Bob Nutting:

Nutting, we've seen, is a man slow to act. He sees the Pirates as a business, one that is making money. But, for the good of the franchise -- for the good of his investment -- it's time for Nutting to think seriously about who he wants as his general manager and manager.

Snell on where to put your pessimism

Dejan Kovacevic's notebook today has more good Snell quotes. Ian, when asked what he thought of the viewpoint that the Pirates were not underachieving, but simply lacking in talent:

"Seriously, you can tell anyone who says that to go shove it. This team is underachieving."

Game 76: Pirates at Marlins

Willis vs. Maholm, starting soon. Maholm is 3-10. Josh Phelps plays 1B and bats sixth. Good news from the Yahoo game preview:

"You're not going to see us physically lay down," first baseman Adam LaRoche told the Pirates' official Web site.

We will not physically lay down. That's all I ever ask for.

Niji

Means rainbow, as in rainbow curve. Dejan Kovacevic explains the Kuwatamania. Leave it to Littlefield to find a middle reliever who can (temporarily) excel by throwing a baseball ultra-slow.

Bayliss down, Wasdin up

Dejan Kovacevic notebook item: Bayliss bussed back to Indy, and ... Wasdin to return.

In 13 IP for the 2007 Bucs, Wasdin has given up 21 hits and 7 BBs, for a 6.92 ERA, 2.15 WHIP, and .382 BAA. At Indy, Wasdin's numbers are freaky: in 28.2 IP, he's given up 35 hits (9! HR) but walked none and K'ed 33. Wayback can still throw strikes, but they are still often hit very far.

Perrotto on protest

The BCT's John Perrotto on the upcoming fan protest and the embarassment-proof front office:

We're going to find out in the next few months if Nutting is truly embarrassed by this mess of a franchise. If he is, then he should make a clean sweep of management and show the foresight to bring in people who are smart enough and dedicated enough to make the Pirates a winner again.

Game 75: Pirates at Angels

Colon vs. Gorzelanny at 3:35 EDT.

Is Bob Nutting evil?

Smizik on Bob Nutting:

Nutting is not a bad person. He is not dispensing social injustice. What he is doing is not illegal, unethical or immoral. What he is guilty of -- in the eyes of most people -- is running his business in a fan-unfriendly manner. He does not deserve to be boycotted and most certainly the people who work for him, be it at PNC Park, Seven Springs or his many newspapers do not deserve to have their jobs placed in jeopardy because the Pirates stink.

Smizik makes lots of good points, but I'm not sure I buy this part. Isn't it unethical and/or immoral to reward proven failure (e.g. extending DL's contract) and thereby knowingly subject hundreds of thousands of Pirate fans to watching awful baseball? If it's not fair to Lefty the beer man for a fan to stay away from PNC in protest of the baseball team, wouldn't it follow that it's not fair to Lefty that the owner and GM field a crummy team year in and year out and threaten his livelihood with the resultant general fan disinterest? And if so, then wouldn't Nutting's actions and inactions qualify as unfair, unethical, and/or evil?

Angry fans

Bob Smizik on Andy Chomos and the June 30th protest. More information can be found at Irate Fans, which is back with several recent posts.

Angry Ian

LL Insane pops off, Dejan Kovacevic writes it down:

"I [expletive] hate this," he said at his stall, his voice rising. "And you can put that in the paper. I [expletive] hate losing. I hate when the team doesn't bring out its full potential. And if they fine me, fine me. I don't care. Because this is getting stupid. We're better than what we're showing."

Game 74: Pirates at Angels

Escobar vs. Snell at nine. Eldred sent down to make room for Phelps. Duffy's back.

Which way I fly is Snell; myself am Snell; And in the lowest deep a lower deep Still threat'ning to devour me opens wide, To which the Snell I suffer seems a Heav'n.

Josh Phelps

Bucs claimed 1B/C Josh Phelps off waivers from the Yankees on Friday to bolster the anemic bench, Dejan Kovacevic reports. Phelps will be in uniform and available for Saturday's game.

Game 73: Pirates at Angels

Saunders vs. Duke at ten. Rajai Davis plays CF and leads off, Brad Eldred DHs and hits seventh. The Bucs haven't scored a run in 20 innings.

Kolb down, Eldred up

Kolb designated for assignment and Eldred recalled, Dejan Kovacevic reports. In other news, Snell's burned finger is OK, and he'll start tomorrow. Torres might not be back until after the ASB.

Game 72: Pirates at Mariners

JVB and Hernan at ten.

Game 71: Pirates at Mariners

Maholm and Weaver at ten.

Kuwata and Ichiro

Ken from the comments found this picture of Kuwata and Ichiro.

I thought it was pretty interesting until I saw the picture of the lady with the beaver sign in the second row. Then I got confused.

Game 70: Pirates at Mariners

It will be Gorzelanny and Batista at ten o'clock tonight.

Off day

The Pirates play in Seattle tomorrow night.

Game 69: White Sox at Pirates

Vazquez and Duke at one-thirty.

Game 68: White Sox at Pirates

Buehrle and JVB at seven.

Game 67: White Sox and Pirates

Hard to believe there's still almost 100 games left in this season.

Tonight it's Garland and Maholm at seven.

White Sox bring dirty feet to Pittsburgh

Rob Mackowiak recalls the learned helplessness in this Chicago Tribune report by Mark Gonzales. Gonzales describes the White Sox as at a crossroads. Desperately seeking "momentum," the team can expect to be disbanded at the trade deadline if they cannot compete with "perennial National League Central doormat Pittsburgh."

Breaking up the Sox's core for the distant future comes at a cost. Moving potential free agents could create a losing situation similar to the one Mackowiak coped with in Pittsburgh for five seasons.

"Sometimes there were no expectations, which is a little different than over here, where there are expectations to win," Mackowiak said. "Over there you played, had fun and expected to lose anyway. Over here, we're expected to win."

Is this fun? Or do the Pirates have their fun off the field?

Game 66: Rangers at Pirates

Loe and Gorzelanny in half an hour. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are not in the lineup tonight.

JVB to start

Chacon out, Van Benschoten in, the P-G reports. JVB will start on Saturday. (For those keeping track, Chacon's ERA+ is currently 99.)

What will come of Castillo and Wilson

Dejan Kovacevic's game recap focuses as much on Castillo as on Snell.

It's good to see that various Pirates have realized that Jack Wilson is not irreplaceable.

After Snell and Gorzelanny, actually, I'm not sure any of the Pirates are terribly essential. Even Jason Bay's left-field defense has been more and more Matt Lawton-like since that shoulder surgery. I could see the Pirates start giving him the Brian Giles treatment.

The team's still a mile below .500, the minor-league cupboard is bare, and the trading deadline will be upon us soon. The Pirates have hoarded money to re-sign a collection of guys who have been nothing but proven Losers, and we all know how they flinch when it's time to lay the hoarded money down.

On one hand the players might want out and wish for a trade. On the other hand, it's not like other teams want Losers much. And further, the guys the Pirates have traded at the deadline have not, for the most part, gone on to be so great for other teams. If players want regular playing time and plenty of patience from management, they can find no better job than the one they have in Pittsburgh.

Fire sale on the horizon? What do you think? I don't trust the Pirates to get good returns on their better players, so this is much more a prediction than a wish on my part.

All hail Ian Snell

He just pitched a pretty good game. And he laid down a nice bunt there too.

See if you can find some Dogfish Head to toast up Delaware Dante.

Game 65: Rangers at Pirates

Snell vs. Tejeda, currently delayed. Castillo starts again at SS in place of Wilson.

I swore that one day, I'd be El Presidente.
But down in Snell, it's really caliente.

Perrotto on draft

The BCT's John Perrotto thinks that Moskos might have to save DL's job too:

"Taking Moskos smacks as the short-sighted work of a GM who realizes his job security is tenuous, regardless of the votes of confidence he gets from Nutting and McClatchy...

While McClatchy has shown an incredible amount of blind faith in recent years in continually extending Littlefield's contract, you would hope Nutting is cognizant of the fact his GM hasn't appreciably improved the club in a half-dozen years."

Game 64: Rangers at Pirates

It's Hit the Cutoff Man Night at the ballpark. Should be spectacular.

Millwood and Duke at seven.

Bob Smizik, voice of reason

It's hard for me to disagree with anything in this column.

Bryan Bullington pulled from start

Rotoworld reports that Bryan Bullington "was pulled out of his start for Triple-A Indianapolis after just one inning with shoulder discomfort."

I was looking forward to seeing his cheerful, Joe Randa-like mug on the mound at PNC this season.

(Bryan. Joe.)

Game 63: Pirates at Yankees

Chacon and Clippard at one. My hunch is the Pirates win this one.

But the Pirates are ten games under .500. The competitive season is over. They have bumbled themselves far away from contender status. There's very little chance they play so far above .500 that they make up those ten games. And there's no chance they go to the playoffs with a sub-.500 record.

So now the silliness begins. Actually, it appears to be well underway. I expect the team to alternate between truly horrific games - such as the one they played yesterday - and games in which they are more disciplined. They will surprise some teams. Any talk of the Pirates being "a good young team" who "always plays tough" will just be the polite thing to say. The news is out. The Pirates stink. They are a joke. Again.

They will win some series, and they may even play .503 ball the rest of the season. They could finish with 77 wins. None of this will mean they are a good team.

My advice to other Pirates fans: do not be afraid to turn off the game when they begin to play to the Benny Hill music. The more punishment you can spare yourself today, the more likely you will still be a fan next year.

Credit where due dept.

Dejan Kovacevic explains how well Jim Colborn has done his job.

He also notes that the Cleveland Indians want no part of their schedule dedicated to the Pittsburgh Pirates. After a little thought, I can see why. It's a lose-lose situation for them. If they beat the Pirates, no one will care. The Pirates are awful. The Pirates will not sell tickets in Cleveland. If they lose to the Pirates, then they must endure comparisons to the Cleveland Browns, who lose twice a year to the Steelers.

Game 62: Pirates at Yankees

Maholm and Clemens at one.

Game 61: Pirates at Yankees

The Pirates ride their one-game winning streak into New York City to play the Yankees. It's Tom Gorzelanny and Andy Pettitte at 7pm.

Almost unthinkable

Angry citizens question Bob Nutting's desire to win. Dejan Kovacevic has no answers.

Game 60: Pirates at Nationals

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Snell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Snell and Chico at one.

Draft

At about 2:20 PM today, the Bucs will be on the clock with the #4 draft pick. The consensus opinion seems to be that the Bucs will take high school third baseman Josh Vitters (if the Cubs don't take him at #3). If Vitters is gone, the P-G's draft preview suggests Missouri State LHP Ross Detwiler, Clemson LHP Daniel Moskos, high school OF Jason Heyward, and Lewis-Clark State 1B/3B Beau Mills. The BCT's John Perrotto agrees, and also mentions high school catcher Devin Mesoraco as a possibility.

John Sickels likes Beau Mills.

Who should they take? Who will they take?

Creech on judging drafts

Disturbing Ed Creech quote, via Dejan Kovacevic:

"The first pick is important [every year]," said Ed Creech, the Pirates' senior director of scouting. "It's more scrutinized. That's the one people judge a draft by."

I thought people judge a draft by the major league talent that emerges from rounds 1-50. Perhaps Creech would like to suggest otherwise to deflect attention from his abominable track record in rounds 2-50.

Game 59: Pirates at Nationals

Duke and Bowie in forty minutes.

Game 58: Pirates at Nationals

Bacsik vs. Chacon, underway. Fresh off the bus from Indy, Rajai Davis starts in CF and leads off.

Gutters

I am totally looking forward to cleaning the gutters tonight. What new hobbies are you starting?

Game 57: Dodgers at Pirates

Maholm vs. Lowe at 7:05, weather permitting.

Game 56: Dodgers at Pirates

Penny and Gorzelanny at 1:35pm.

Nickname for Capps

We put our heads together last night in the game thread, trying to come up with a nickname for new closer Matthew Dicus Capps. There's still work to be done, but so far the favorites seem to be:

A. Bustah Capps
B. Dicus-K
C. Biggus Dicus
D. (Just plain) Dicus

Any other suggestions or comments?

Game 55: Dodgers at Pirates

Jim Tracy gave a rousing pre-game speech tonight. A little bird found his notes and delivered them with a cold bottle of pale ale. Here are his prepared remarks.

My sentence is for open war. Of wiles,
More unexpert, I boast not: them let those
Contrive who need, or when they need; not now.
For, while they sit contriving, shall the rest--
Millions that stand in arms, and longing wait
The signal to ascend--sit lingering here,
Heaven's fugitives, and for their dwelling-place
Accept this dark opprobrious den of shame,
The prison of his tyranny who reigns
By our delay? No! let us rather choose,
Armed with Snell-flames and fury, all at once
O'er Heaven's high towers to force resistless way,
Turning our tortures into horrid arms
Against the Torturer; when, to meet the noise
Of his almighty engine, he shall hear
Infernal thunder, and, for lightning, see
Black fire and horror shot with equal rage
Among his Angels, and his throne itself
Mixed with Tartarean sulphur and strange fire,
His own invented torments.

Kuo and Snell-flames in half an hour.

Zach Duke

Dejan Kovacevic's game report describes Zach Duke as focussed on the study of game tape from his rookie season.

It could be Kovacevic's story-telling, but Duke sounds like Captain Ahab on a narrow-minded quest to regain his lost delivery. Why study the past so much? Perhaps he should spend more time studying the future.

He can already know, I guess, who's going to be his next opponent. Odds are, the difference between then and now has little to do with how he shakes his hips as he tosses his changeup. More likely, the league has made adjustments to him.

Time for him to make adjustments to the league. How is he going to get those mofos out? The difference between a bad start and a quality start may only be the ability to neutralize one or two specific guys.

Game 54: Dodgers at Pirates

Last night I heard that the Pirates have the best record in the NL Central since last year's All-Star Break. Bones and I debated if this "best" was a .450 record or a .475 record.

The season crosses the one-third mark tonight. The Pirates are 23-30 (.434) and in second place. It's Randy Wolf and Zach Duke.

One of those guys will rack up a bunch of Ks.

An ultra-deflating 4-2 loss

Dejan Kovacevic recaps last night's game.

Any time a team scores only two runs, they are probably going to lose. That's not much of a lead to protect, so I would not compare this loss to the Saturday against Arizona.

One play that I'd emphasize when studying the loss: Jose Bautista's no-out bunt to move the runner from scoring position to scoring position. Why play for one run? It was not the bottom of the ninth in a tie game. With the way Bautista has been hitting, I expected the Pirates to let him swing away and play for a multi-run rally.

Game 53: Padres at Pirates

Maddux and Chacon at seven.

Jason Bay and other Pirates have had good success against Maddux in the past. So I'm thinking eight, ten, twelve or fifteen runs tonight.

Heads up

Shawn Chacon Night coming on fast. Not many hours remaining to refresh the beer supply.

Game 52: Padres at Pirates

Young and Maholm at 7:05. A win tonight puts the Pirates on pace to win 75. A loss brings their winning percentage down to the 72-win level.

It's easier to win today than it is to win two tomorrow. A team with the Pirates' record confronts that choice if the goal is so many wins above .500 at the end of the season. The Pirates are not likely to turn into a .650 winning percentage team in the second half. If baseball in striking distance of .500 and baseball in striking distance of first place is the only kind of baseball for you, then this homestand is more or less the whole season. If they win enough, they live to play another meaningful road trip. If they get swept out, it's exhibition time and those so inclined can sit around amusing themselves with hypothetical deadline deals.

It's a good day for light, delicious, ice-cold adult beverages. If you are on empty, you have about an hour to make a beer run before the first pitch tonight.

Win now

What he said. I am no fan of "five-year plans" or, more recently, talk of "2008" or "2009." The plan which involves sacrificing the present opportunity to better seize a mythical, coming, better one--this plan always fails. This kind of thinking has a big part in how this team managed 14 consecutive losing seasons.

First, winning and losing each have their own inertia. If the team wants to win in 2009, they better win in 2008; if they want to win in 2008, they better win in 2007. The team cannot build a winning tradition soon enough.

Second, good ticket sales are the team's best guarantee of long-term success. And fans will not buy many tickets to see a team with a losing tradition.

Third, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny, Jason Bay, and Freddy Sanchez, to name a few, are playing as well as they may ever play. The 2009 team will be lucky to have four players as good as these guys are right now. Anyone is wrong if he thinks that, in 2009, it is likely that all four of these guys will (a) still be on the team and (b) still be performing at this high level. It's now or never for this team.

As the old sayings go:

Have you somewhat to do to-morrow; do it to-day.

One To-day is worth two To-morrows.

An Egg to day is better than a Hen to-morrow.

The Use of Money is all the Advantage there is in having Money.

and

He that lives upon Hope, dies farting.

Second place

For real. The Bucs have the collective collapse of the rest of the division to thank more than their own sub-.500 play, but we'll take it.

Bucs are now only 5.5 games behind Milwaukee. Against a tough schedule, the Brewers have lost 12 of their last 16, and conceivably could outlose the 2007 NL Central Champion Pirates. The Brewers: one of us?

Game 51: Padres at Pirates

Gorzelanny vs. Wells, starting now. The NL Central is 19-42 vs. the NL West.

22 wins

On pace for 71 wins.

Game 50: Pirates at Reds

Snell and Lohse at 1:15.

"We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by: thus easy is it for God, when he pleases, to cast his enemies down to Snell."

Game 49: Pirates at Reds

Duke and Saarloos at one-fifteen.

Game 48: Pirates at Reds

Arroyo vs. Chacon in ten.

Pirates calm

In this game report, Dejan Kovacevic quotes Bay, Wilson, and others on the subject of listlessness.

The team appears to understand, but somewhat resent, our perception of the team as not highly motivated. The hits will fall, they say. They appear to be thinking, from these few quotes, that it's mainly a matter of luck.

A consistent approach must be a good thing to have. And it's probably true that they are never as good as they look on the best days, and never as bad as they look on the worst days.

But there is a generosity in the theory that they are not sufficiently motivated. Perhaps they understand this, perhaps they do not. If motivation is not a problem, then fans can only say one thing. These are not good ballplayers. This is a bad team.

Look at the scoreboard. They are seven games under .500. Good teams made up of good ballplayers do not slip to seven games under .500 by accident or luck.

Either these guys are not working very hard out there. Or they are working hard and they are not very talented. It's hard to know the difference. I think it's the former case, but they probably know better.

Game 47: Pirates at Reds

Harang vs. Maholm. Krivsky vs. DL. Enraged at this upstart Krivsky stealing his thunder and determined to reclaim the basement throne, DL needs his typically crummy team to lose this series. Epic struggle starting soon.

Gonzo out for year

The AP reports.

Later, BatGirl

So long, and thanks for all the legos!

Pirates not clutch

Jim Tracy speaks to Dejan Kovacevic.

Game 46: Pirates at Cardinals

Looper vs. Gorzelanny, starting now. Duffy hitting second again.

Nutting promises D.R. improvement

Back from visiting the Dominican Republic, Bob Nutting has pledged to "build a new baseball academy there or upgrade its existing one," reports Dejan Kovacevic.

"There is a strong feeling within the organization that a new, state-of-the-art facility will be the choice."

Is this a P.R. stunt? Or a reason to be genuinely encouraged that Bob Nutting wants to win (by 2015)?

Thor vs. Cota and Kelly

Today's Q+A quizzes Dejan Kovacevic on Duke's delivery, bringing back Craig Wilson, and Chacon.

Game 45: Pirates at Cardinals

Kip vs. Ian. "Snell is oneself, Snell is alone, the other figures in it merely projections. There is nothing to escape from and nothing to escape to."

Six games under

And eight games out of first.

Don't rule out the D.R.

Pirates ready to spend, reports the AP from the Dominican Republic, where Nutting, McClatchy, and DL wrapped up their four day visit.

The Pirates are considering building a new full-time academy as well, said assistant general manager Louie Eljaua.

"That is something that is in our plans. Maybe not immediately, but it is something that you cannot rule out," he said.

No word yet on whether they found any takers for Wasdin.

Game 44: Pirates at Cardinals

Wainwright vs. Duke, starting now. Jack Wilson returns and bats 8th. Bautista leads off, Bay bats third. Nady's in CF, so no Duffy tonight.

Beer thread

Negra Modelo for me. What's in your hand?

Ballgame comes on in the central time zone tonight.

Firemen and closers

Brian O'Neill has a good point.

Another somewhat dubious move in that now-infamous Saturday game: leaving Gorzelanny in there to finish the fifth. This is more debatable than calling on the guy with the biggest rash of recent troubles to face Tony Clark. But at the time, I was annoyed. You have to win these games, and it looked to me like Gorzelanny was being left in there so he could get the win. He got the final out, and he came back out there and did the sixth. But he was laboring, the team had a big lead, and a sure win appeared to be within reach. I thought at the time that Tracy was taking a risk by leaving him in there; I wondered if Gorzelanny was not getting the chance to continue only so he could get the win.

It would be a dumb thing to risk a team win so that one particular player has a greater chance of getting a personal win. There is the notion that players "have to grow" and that a manager might turn a kid into a proven veteran by showing how he can overcome adversity in a situation like that. This I consider worthless psychobabble. The best thing a manager can do is teach the player an unconditional respect for the team winning the game. There can be no compromise of this. There may be more to life than winning games, but if that is true, the big-league manager should be the last person in the world to believe it. So if a kid starter walks the bases loaded and has fallen apart after his team just batted around and he got a cute trophy for his fireplace and ran the bases etc., why not take the ball from his hand. Why not say look man, nothing personal, but you look distracted to me. So get out of here.

I could be all wrong, but I ramble on this way to compare that move to neglect of the firemen O'Neill describes. Tracy's narrow-minded view of the need for clear roles strikes me as something that might be too deferential to the save stat. It betrays a concern for something other than winning. On a losing team, no player deserves any kind of job security. I don't know. I could go on but I'll stop.

Rogers recalled

Chacon moves into the rotation. Makes sense to me. Dejan Kovacevic reports.