Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Colorado Rockies – Game 16

Effin’ bats.  Who else is there to blame?  This isn’t like the Penguins blowing it in the Playoffs, or the Steelers getting scorched by Tim Tebow.

There is no one else to blame.  The Pirates are squandering great pitching.  I honestly want to know what Gregg Ritchie does.

There are a few trains of thought when it comes to coaches.  One is that they really don’t make a difference.  The other is that they make a huge difference.

Regardless of what you think what is the point of having a coach if he doesn’t make a difference?  The Pirates obviously must feel he is of some importance or they would have him on the payroll.

If they think the position has any bearing on the bats he should be fired.

I have little faith that this game will actually be played tonight.

Before we get started here is an interesting fact.  Jason Giambi, Ramon Hernandez, and Jamie Moyer combine for 50.37 years of service time.

The Pirates starting lineup yesterday of Nate McLouth, Jose Tabata, Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Garrett Jones, Pedro Alvarez, Clint Barmes, Michael McKenry, and Erik Bedard combined for 28.111.

First Pitch: 7:05 PM EST

Where To Watch:  Root Sports, MLB.TV

Jamie Moyer, LHP (49) somehow has a twitter account @moyerfoundation.

One thing about Moyer that is currently amusing me is that everyone suddenly wants to see him.  Like you have never had a chance to see him.  He has been playing for 25 years and suddenly he is everyone’s favorite pitcher.

Moyer is indeed a great story, and he’s one of the good guys, so good for him.  Really.

Moyer didn’t pitch in the majors last year but in 2010 he shut down the Bucs bats pretty good in his one start.

Too bad for the old man his team gave him no help at all and he ended up with the loss.

Obviously when you are in the league 25 years you will have a ton of experience against a lot of teams. Moyer is no exception. The Pirates have hit him well over the years but, honestly, it doesn’t make much of a difference when you consider he has pitched more games at Three Rivers Stadium (7) then PNC Park (3).

Still, for information sake, here are the numbers.

Rod Barajas kills Moyer. Somehow I doubt we get to see it though.

Kevin Correia, RHP (31)

Pretty stoked I get to write about Kevin Correia twice in a row.  I was hoping they would just throw him out of the bullpen and then let him make another road start but no such luck.  I guess we get to see if Kevin Correia has figured out how to pitch in the wonderful city of Pittsburgh.

We know about Correia’s struggles at PNC so I’m not going to delve into them….again.

Correia was a stud against the Rockies last year, they could hit him at all.

He got one win out of it because he came out of the bullpen once. That is kind of why I thought they would go that route again, because he has been able to do it. I actually like that. I would much rather cut down on bullpen sessions and such for pitchers and make starters throw out of the bullpen on a semi-regular basis. Then the Pirates could have a six man rotation to keep arms healthier while still getting more appearances out of them.

What a pipe dream though, huh?

I guess if Correia is going to start at home though I want it against the Rockies. He has a ton of experience against them, facing them more than he has faced any other team.

I didn’t say he has been overly successful though.

Maybe we should be hoping for rain?