Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Pirates Trade Nyjer Morgan To Nats For Lastings Milledge

It's been a busy afternoon for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hours after trading Eric Hinske to the Yankees, the rumoured trade between the Bucs and Nats finally happened. The Pirates traded fan favorite Nyjer Morgan and lefty reliever Sean Burnett to Washington for OF Lastings Milledge and relief pitcher Joel Hanrahan.

Morgan's personality will be missed but this can turn out to be a great trade for the Pirates. With Andrew McCutchen in the lead-off spot, Morgan became trade bait. He's almost 29 years old and having what might be a career year. The Bucs are short on power and Milledge has more pop in his bat.


This will be Milledge's third team. He's only 24. Milledge is known more for his off field problems than his play. He seemed to have a problem with just about every member of the New York Mets. Hey, so do I! He also has been benched a few times for being late to games. Yes its a risk, but a risk worth taking. Milledge once appeared in a controversial rap song with strong language. Really? Strong language in a rap song? I only listen to Christian rap. If that's the worst thing he did, get over it.


This part of the trade confused me. Burnett has been pitching well for the Pirates. I guess they had to give up a little more to land Milledge. Another bobblehead forced to the back of the shelf.


I know nothing about Joel Hanrahan other than what I read on Wikipedia. He has a career record of 11-9 with a high 5.30 ERA considering he was once a closer. We will just wait and see.

Good things are happening, kids. Morgan needed to go now because this was the highest his trade value would have ever been. Milledge has promise and now our outfield is crowded with potential. That's a good thing. The bull-pen got a little weaker but you can't have everything with one trade. Look for more trades soon. (I'm looking at you Adam, Capps, Wilson, Dirty)

Pirates Trade Eric Hinske To Yankess


The Pirates traded Eric Hinske to the Yankees today for two minor league prospects, outfielder/catcher Eric Fryer and RHP Casey Erickson. Indianapolis outfielder Garrett Jones will take Hinske's spot on the roster. Fryer was hitting .250 with 11 doubles for Class-A Tampa. He will be assigned to Lynchburg. Erickson is 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA for Single-A Charleston. He has an impressive 33 K's in 32 2/3 innings pitched. He most likely will be heading to the West Virgina Power. Looks like we got something in return for basically nothing. Why was Hinske on this team to begin with? The former AL Rookie Of The Year was hitting .250 with only 1 HR and 11 RBIs for the Bucs. Bringing up Jones is an improvement. Jones was hitting .307 with 18 doubles, 12 HRs, 48 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for Indy. Good things are happening my friends. Just another trade that will help the Pirates out in the future, and that's what we are waiting for. The future is not far away.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Ian Snell Strikes Out 17, but...

Game 75 Royals @ Pirates


The Bucs look for the sweep today against Kansas City and push their winning streak to 5 games. It won't be easy. Zack Greinke goes for KC. He is 9-3 with a 1.90 ERA. Charlie Morton looks for his first win in a Pirates uniform. The game is on FSN at 1:30. Participate in the liveblog below. Go Bucs!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Game 74 Kansas City Royals @ Pittsburgh Pirates LiveBlog

Bruce Chen (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Paul Maholm (4-4, 4.48 ERA)


Friday, June 26, 2009

5 Reasons To Go To The Royals/Pirates Series


When the 2009 schedule was released the Pirates had to be worried that the 3 game series against Kansas City was going to be far from a sell-out. That's the problem with interleague games. They don't always play teams that you want to see. Here is a list of reasons to get off the couch and head to PNC Park.

#5. Promotions and Giveaways- This weekend is loaded with them. Tonight all fans get a Homestead Grays Cap plus it's dollar dog night. Cheap date indeed. Saturday the teams will be wearing throwback uniforms and it's fireworks night after the game. Sunday is kids day. All kids 14 and under will get Batting Gloves and Wristbands.

#4. Zack Greinke- Greinke is scheduled to start Sunday. This year he is 9-3 with a 1.90 ERA. This means the Bucs should feast off him.

#3. PNC Park- PNC Park is the best park in baseball. When the day finally comes that the Bucs are contenders, this place will be jammed. Folks, we are not that far away. A few more trades and call-ups and this team will start winning. Trust me. Two years and the Pirates will be where we want them, looking down at everyone else in the NL Central.

#2. Jose Guillen- Fomer Bucco Jose Guillen is KC's right fielder. Back in 1997 the Pirates were surprise contenders and needed a catcher. They traded Guillen and Jeff Sparks to Tampa for Joe Oliver and Humberto Cota. Guillen never panned out to be the superstar player but he still has that cannon of an arm. Maybe you will see something similar to this.

On the fly. I forgot how God-awful those grey caps were.

#1. Andrew McCutchen- The future is now. Cutch is opening eyes all over the baseball world. An early candidate for Rookie Of The Year. McCutchen is worth the price of admission himself. The kid can flat out fly. Cutch, Moss and Jose Tabata will soon be the new outfield of dreams. (I haven't given up on Moss yet)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson Is Dead

Even more stunning than Ian Snells demotion, Michael Jackson died this afternoon at the age of 50. The King Of Pop and Farrah on the same day?! Jackson was 50. His nose was only 15. No matter who you are, we all have a favorite Michael Jackson song. This is mine. "You ain't bad, you ain't nothin'"


Ian Snell Sent To AAA


Ian Snell and his 2-8 record and 5.36 ERA has been sent down to AAA Indianapolis. Virgil Vasquez will take his spot in the rotation. Snell said this was his idea because of all the negativity he was receiving in Pittsburgh. Poor baby. If he thinks the negativity is Pittsburgh was bad, he's lucky he didn't get traded to a city the lives and breathes baseball. Snell is making $3.2 million this season. We have the right to complain. I just hope he goes down and pitches well enough not to hurt any trade value he has left. I like the move. I would have liked it better if Snell was moving for good. As for Vasquez, he was 5-2 with a 4.18 ERA in 14 starts for the Indians.

Thanks for the Memories




Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Who Is Buying This Crap?


If you look at the bottom of this page you will see a T-Shirt from Zazzle.com. I made this shirt about a year and a half ago when I started this blog. In the last two weeks I have sold 5 of them. I thought we were in a recession. People have credit card bills out the wazoo but are buying my shirt. I am now a T-Shirt retailer. Whats next? Jeans? Polo's? There's no stopping me. If you have an extra $21.45 laying around then buy my shirt. I get like 2 cents for each one sold. I'm on my way to an early retirement. Maybe I should buy one since I don't even have one. If you want to contribute to my retirement fund follow this link. Christmas is only 183 days away. Free shipping until the end of June. I'm just throwing that out there. Buy my shirt!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Indianapolis Sweeps DH vs Scranton

After two straight days of rain outs, the Indianapolis Indians took a pair tonight against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. In game one, Garrett Jones and Erik Kratz hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the 2nd and Tom Gorzelanny pitched 5 innings of 2 hit ball while striking out 7 giving the Indians a 7-1 win. Our seats were next to Kratzs' family and we got to talk some ball with them. Pretty cool. In game two, Indy got down 3-0 after 3 innings before a four run 4th put them ahead to stay. Jeff Salazar led of the inning with his 9th home run. Daniel McCutchen went 6 innings allowing 3 runs for the win. The Indians took game two 6-3. A good night all around for the Baby Buccos. Here are some pics we took.

Soon to be in Jack Wilson's spot, Brian Bixler

Gorzo











Yes,yes and yes!

Indianapolis Indians @ Scranton. DH Tonight


I had tickets for Saturdays game which was PPD by rain. I had tickets for Sundays double header which was PPD by rain. Yesterday was the nicest day around here in what felt like a month so I have no clue way it was PPD. Little leagues and American Legion teams all over the area played ball, but it was too wet for Triple A baseball. Lets try it again tonight. Double header at 5:35. Game 1 probable pitchers are Tom Gorzelanny for Indy and Josh Towers for Scranton. Game two has Daniel McCutchen for the Indians and Kei Igawa for the Yankees. It's nice out so the games should be played. Then again, that's what I thought yesterday. Yours truly will be there and I will post pics later tonight.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Link Dump



It's Friday. Time to get my drunk on. I've been giving my liver a break. The things it went through last Friday, it wouldn't let me do it again for a full week. The bastard. Click and enjoy. Cheers!

Click On This

Check out the new One For The Other Thumb. Sweet! [OFTOT]

This Song Rules And Was Produced By A Pittsburgh Fan [PSAMP]

The Pirates Real Dream Team Is The Sales Team [Rum Bunter]

Steve is back on TV...maybe?...someday? [Steve Is Alive]

Fat Guy Friday [Three Idiots on Sports]

and finally... Did anyone watch the NHL awards last night? I didn't think so. Myself, I was watching porn. Later...

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

My New Favorite Song This Week

Because my full attention has been on the Pens the past few weeks, it's been awhile since we had a new favorite song. In the last few days, how many champagne bottles have you seen? Quite a bit, I'm guessing (just from Geno himself). Although this is not a celebrate and drink champagne song, it's appropriate enough. The band is Cavo and according to Wikipedia, they hail from St. Louis. They call themselves a post-grunge/hard rock band. Here is (wait for it...) Champagne. Cheers.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Parade Pics





Pictures courtesy of Ron Polansky.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Stanley Cup Champs Who Played In Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

I love that my favorite teams AHL club is just down the street from me. I got to see a lot of stars before they became Stanley Cup champions. Not bad. Not bad at all.



Marc-Andre Fleury- The Flower spent parts of four different seasons with the Baby Pens, playing in 82 games for WBS. His 1.49 GAA and .938 save percentage helped Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 13-0-1-0 start in 2005.






Max Talbot- Superstar played for WBS from 2004-06. A fan favorite before he was a superstar.






Tyler Kennedy- In 2006-07, TK had 37 points in 40 games. His first professional season was spent entirely in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.





Miroslav Satan- Satan was a true professional when the trading deadline and salary cap put him in Wilkes-Barre for 10 games. I witnessed a shootout goal in person. Woooo.




Rob Scuderi- Scuds played in NEPA from 2001-06 appearing in 300+ games.






Kris Letang- Letang and his hair only played in 11 games for Wilkes-Barre. Good thing. We need him in Pittsburgh.




Brooks Orpik- Spent his first two pro seasons as a member of the Baby Pens. It doesn't feel like 6 years since he left for Pittsburgh.




Alex Goligoski- Because he played in more than 40 games for Pittsburgh, Goligoski will have his name on the Cup. That's something they can never take away from you. Good for him.




Dan Bylsma- Disco Dan wasn't the head coach in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for long and now he is Stanley Cup Champion Head Coach Dan Bylsma. That's just storybook.




Mike Yeo- Yeo was an assistant coach in WBS for six seasons. He also played here as a player in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's first season in 1999.

Friday, June 12, 2009

I'll Be That Guy... Yahoo!!!


Can The Pens Win It All On The Road? History Says Yes


The 1990-91 Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup at The Met Center in Bloomington , MN. The 1991-92 Pens won their second championship in Chicago. I'm just saying that the Pens have never won a Cup home. The Pens look to win their third one tonight in Detroit. Neither of those clinching games were a game 7. The last pro sports team (NHL, MLB, NBA) to win it all in a game 7 on the road was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. Crazy. I know. Hopefully Disco Dan played that World Series game for the team sometime in the last two days. I can be done. It will be done. History is on our side. Do It! Go Pens!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Pregame Music. Lets Go Pens

Mailing it in again. Go Pens!



PRINCE-7




Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Pirates vs Braves Live Blog

Friday can not come soon enough. In the meantime, we still have the Bucs. Charlie Morton gets his first start tonight.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Fleury...Fleury...Fleury


Remember game 5? Don't. It's over. History. Gone. There is going to be more pressure on Marc-Andre Fleury tonight than ever before. Throw him under the bus? Not around here you will. Pens fans have been hearing the words Hope and Believe more this year than ever before. We, as Pens fans, do have hope and we do believe. We can't stomach seeing the Wings hoist the Cup on our ice again. We will not see that tonight. Believe. Fleury is going to be huge. Trust me. Friday night is the day we have all been waiting for. On Saturday morning, it will all be worth it. Go Pens!



Click On This- Penguins Edition

Incredible post from [THE Pensblog]

Beard On The Line [Smilin' Like a Butcher's Dog]

Great moments...are born from great opportunity [The Wicked Wrister]

248 days boils down to tonight [PensBurgh]

Game Day Poop [Penguin Poop]

The HOPE Post [Hockey To The Max]

and finally...

Monday, June 8, 2009

Adam LaRoche is Going To Have Tears In His Eyes


Tonight the Pirates take on Nate McLouth and the Atlanta Braves. Last year McLouth was an all-star for the Bucs. Lets take a look at how other Bucco all-star outfielders did in their first game against the Pirates.

Bobby Bonilla- Bobby Bo was an all-star with the Pirates from 1988-1991. In his first game against Pittsburgh, Bonilla went 0-4 with a strikeout in a game the Pirates won 7-2 over the Mets.

Barry Bonds- Bonds was a Pirate all-star in 1990 and 1992. In his first game against his former team, Bonds was 2-4 with a triple, double and an RBI. The Pirates got 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to beat the Giants 6-5.

Andy Van Slyke- Slick was a three time all-star for the Pirates in 1988, 1992 and 93. In 1995 Van Slyke went to Baltimore as a free agent and then was traded to the Phillies. On 07/26/95 Van Slyke went 0-4 with a walk, a run scored and a strikeout in a game the Pirates lost 2-1 in 11 innings. The Pirates only had 2 hits.

Brian Giles- Giles faced the Pirates for the first time since being traded on 05/19/2004. He went 3-4 with an RBI in the first game of a double header that the Padres won 6-3.

So what can we expect to see out of McLouth tonight? I'm guessing a lot of tears from the rest of the Pirates who wished they were the ones traded. In case you are wondering, Jason Bay has never faced Pittsburgh since last years trade.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Big Game Tonight



As you can see by the standings, our Buccos are only a half game up on Houston. Tonight the Pirates can take over 6th place in the NL Central. Good pitching match-up. Paul Maholm vs Roy Oswalt. It's tough being a fan of the only MLB team that can finish 6th. That was a joke, and not a good one. Only about 3 people will be watching this game on TV and I won't be one of them.

photo stolen from THE Pensblog

I don't think I have ever been this nervous before a Pens game. Pittsburgh has to win there once so how about tonight!!! If the Pens play anywhere near the way they did Thursday, I will be one drunk happy fucker. Datsyuk will be in the lineup for the Wings. Good. No way he's close to 100%. 70% at best. I'll take it. Malkin 100%. Crosby 100%. LETS GO PENS!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Pensational!


Last nights 2nd period was the best period the Pens played all year. They proved the "experts" wrong. Many said the Pens were done, including Mike Wilbon on yesterdays PTI. Wilbon actually said the Pens wouldn't win another game. I have a feeling Wilbon has never watched a hockey game. The Pens are far from done. LETS GO PENS!


Click On This

I took part in Meeting People Is Easy [OFTOT]

A very funny post called Adam Laroche: You're Next [Pirates Property]

One of the "Who?" the Bucs got for McLouth pitched a gem last night [Our Sports Central]

Lost in Translation- Neil Huntington [We Should Be GM's]

Penn State steals another lineman from Pitt [The Nittany Line]

and finally... Comcast has finally figured this out. For years channel 775 was available for free. That channel is one of the many MLB Extra Inning/NHL Center Ice channels. The only time it was blacked out was when one of the local teams were on it. Now we are NOT AUTHORIZED. It was fun while it lasted. Morons. Thanks for all the free games I got to watch. I still hate your guts.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Pirates Trade Nate McLouth to Braves


Another bobblehead traded. The Bucs sent Nate McLouth to Atlanta today for outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, left-hander Jeff Locke and right-hander Charlie Morton. Hernandez was hitting .316 for Double-A Mississippi. The plus side is that his name is Gorkys. Locke was 1-4 with a 5.52 ERA in 10 starts for Myrtle Beach, the Braves High Class A affiliate. With that ERA, he should fit right in. Morton was 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA at Triple-A Gwinnett this season. Much better than he was last year in Atlanta where we went 4-8 with a 6.15 ERA in 15 starts. That's the Morton that we will probably see. Both Hernandez and Locke are considered top prospects, according to Baseball America. The plus side of all this...



Andrew McCutchen will likely be promoted to Pittsburgh. It's about time. Cutch is hitting .303 with 4 HR's, 20 RBI's, 10 SB's and 8 triples for Indianapolis. Who's next to leave town? Snell? Wilson? Ok, now I'm hallucinating again. I have no idea where to put all of these former Bucco bobbleheads.


Because of contract obligations, TIGO has to show one video per post. Nice knowing you, Nate.


Wait... One more (I actually like this song, sue me)

What The Good Blogs Are Saying About Last Nights Win

Some people call this mailing it in. It was actually more work. Anyway, click on the links for the best recaps around. Funny stuff

From Puck Huffers





Clark & Heptner




Mondesi's House




I saved the best for last (yes, this is a PITTSBURGH sports blog) Sarcasm? Lets hope so. The Unsportsmanlikes