The Average White Guy

There are runners on first and third for Jason Bay, with two outs in the bottom the 16th inning. Phil Garner sends the intentional walk sign to his pitcher and catcher. This loads the bases for Adam LaRoche. A smart move. LaRoche was 6 for 65 so far this season; that’s an .098 batting average. If you don’t know .290 is a good batting average, .098 sucks. Of his 6 hits, 3 were home runs; the guy does have some pop.

LaRoche singles through the hole at shortstop which gets Jack Wilson in from third to end the game. The Pirates win 4-3. It wasn’t quite that simple though. During the intentional walk to Bay, Houston Astros catcher Humberto Quintero snaps a throw back to third base trying to catch Wilson sleeping on the base path. It almost worked.

The marathon win brings the Pirate to 9-10 on the season, which isn’t too shabby of a start. The rest of the division is hovering at about .500 ball, with the exception of the Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the division by a few games. I don’t think it will last.

This is the 5th game and win for the Pirates over the Astros. I love that. In fact, with the exception of one game, all nine of the Pirate wins this season are against divisional opponents. This accounts for a lot down the road, as divisional wins are the most important.

I was a bit disappointed watching tonight though. Salomon Torres blew another save tonight. He took the hill in the 9th when the Pirates were up 3-1. It’s his third blown save (I think) already, and the league is hittiing him hard. I’m not sure what Jim Tracy does about the gaping hole in the back of the bullpen. Matt Capps is back there, but I don’t think he’s closer material - at least not yet. Chacon is pitching well, but his value is that he was a starter, and can pitch more than an inning or two if you need him. Damaso Marte has never impressed me either. Neither John Grabow or John Wasdin have the lights out stuff either, so I have no idea what will become of this, but something has to be done. Had Pittsburgh have won two of the three blown saves (since they won tonight), we’re looking at an 11-8 record instead of a 9-10 record. I know it’s early, and there’s plenty of time to make up a two game swing, but every win counts when you haven’t had a winning season in 14 years. I’m 28 now…that’s HALF OF MY LIFE!!!!

All things considered, I think Pittsburgh is in good shape to hang in the middle to top of the division this season. Of course it’s early, and the Bucs always seem to find a way to lose, but I don’t like to focus on that; I’m an optimist about baseball in Pittsburgh. Let’s just see what happens when LaRoche, Bay, Sanchez, and Paulino get hot at the plate for a stretch. I can see a 10-12 game winning streak happening, if…..if only….