Results tagged ‘ Paul Maholm ’

2009 MLB All-Star Rosters


Alright well earlier in the year I made a post picking the guys that I wanted to see starting the all-star game. Now that the real starters have been announced, I’d like to compare my picks with the real ones. So here are my picks for the National League : 

Catcher – Brian McCann
First Base – Albert Pujols
Second Base – Orlando Hudson
Shortstop – Miguel Tejada
Thirdbase – Ryan Zimmerman
Left Field – Raul Ibanez
Center Field – Carlos Beltran
Right Field – Justin Upton
Here are the ACTUAL NL starters: 
Catcher – Yadier Molina
First Base – Albert Pujols
Second Base – Chase Utley
Shortstop – Hanley Ramirez
Third Base – David Wright
Outfield – Carlos Beltran
Outfield – Ryan Braun
Outfield – Raul Ibanez

So I got 3 right. Not too good, but I think my picks are more deserving than the actual guys. Here are my AL picks : 
Catcher – Victor Martinez
First Base – Justin Morneau
Second Base – Aaron Hill
Shortstop – Jason Bartlett
Third Base – Evan Longoria
Left Field – Carl Crawford
Center Field – Ichiro Suzuki
Right Field – Nelson Cruz

and the actual AL starters:

Catcher – Joe Mauer
First Base – Mark Teixeira
Second Base – Dustin Pedroia
Shortstop – Derek Jeter
Third Base – Evan Longoria
Outfield – Jason Bay
Outfield – Ichiro Suzuki
Outfield – Josh Hamilton

I only got 2 starters right for the American league. But again, my picks are more logical ;)

I’d just like to say that I think it’s a total joke that Dustin Pedroia and Josh Hamilton are starting. Pedroia is not having an all-star year, much less an all-star starter type of year. He is hitting .290/.368/.3
93 with 3 homers and 36 RBI. Not a bad year, but certainly not an all star year. As for Josh Hamilton, I know he’s a fan favorite, he is one of my favorites too, but he has only played 36 games this year. I don’t care what you do in those 36 games, you aren’t deserving of an all-star game, and he knows it. Hamilton has said publicly that he doesn’t feel he deserves the start. But after what he did last year in the home run derby and just the story that he has to tell, I find it hard to be angry about the fact that he is starting. I don’t have much beef besides that, it should be a great all-star game.
In other news, the Pirates will take the field in Houston tonight to try and prevent themselves from falling to 10 games under .500. They have not been playing well at all, and I don’t really expect them to for the rest of the year. Let’s just hope we can be somewhat competent for the rest of the year and not become a laughing stock, although a top 3 overall pick in next years draft would certainly help us build for the future. Paul Maholm takes the hill tonight against Brian Moehler. I have no predictions, feelings, or anything else to add on this game, I won’t even be watching it (got a softball game). 
Now despite all the negativity…
Let’s Go Bucs!

…and the Decline Begins

Well the Pirates 10-game homestand was supposed to be a time where they could make up ground on the rest of the NL Central. It started out great, after losing their first game they won the next three and were sitting at 4-1. Then they ran into Zack Greinke and Rich Harden and were back at 4-3. They played a great game with the help of Ross Ohlendorf and put themselves back in good shape with a record of 5-3. However, another lack-luster offensive game last night puts back at 5-4 heading into their last game. Virgil Vasquez pitched pretty well giving up 3 runs in 6 innings and giving the Pirates a chance to win. However it was not enough.  Today the Pirates take on the Mets, in a make up game that was supposed to go down on June 3rd, the day of the Nate McLouth trade. I will be heading down to the game, which means I will have attended all 3 games of this Mets series at PNC. In the other two games of this series, the Pirates defeated Johan Santana on a Tuesday night, and defeated Mike Pelfrey on Andrew McCutchen’s major league debut. I don’t see why the Pirates can’t win again today, with Paul Maholm taking on Tim Redding. The pitching matchup definitely favors us, and a win would make it a 6-4 homestand, which I’d be happy with. 

In other news, Sean Burnett and Joel Hanrahan made their debuts with their new teams last night. Burnett pitched 1.1 innings and gave up a game-tying homerun to Cody Ross, the first batter he faced as a National. He went on to retire his next 4 batters, but somehow got credited with a blown save. I don’t exactly know how that works, considering he gave up the run in the 7th inning and it wasn’t a save situation, but that’s what Yahoo is telling me. Nyjer Morgan didn’t play in the game, but I’d expect to see him in center field in the Nationals next game. As for Joel Hanrahan, he pitched a scoreless inning in the Pirates loss last night. He came in in the 7th inning and gave up a base hit to the first batter he faced. He then got a groundball double play and finished the inning off with the strikeout of Derrek Lee. He looked pretty good, although his fastball didn’t top 94 (as far as I saw), I’m sure it was just an off day or he was trying to be conservative in his first appearance as a Pirate. We will see that velocity above 94, I promise you. I’ve seen the guy throw 97. The other newest Pirate, Garrett Jones, sure didn’t do much. He went 0-4 while hitting in the 3 spot. I kind of question Russell’s decision to put him in that 3 hole immediately. Although if he would’ve had a couple of hits I’d be praising it. He is definitely capable of hitting some home runs, but I wouldn’t bump him up to a power spot right away. If it weren’t me, this is what my lineup would look like : 
1. Andrew McCutchen
2. Andy LaRoche
3. Freddy Sanchez
4. Adam LaRoche
5. Brandon Moss
6. Garrett Jones / Jeff Salazar
7. Jason Jamarillo / Robinson Diaz
8. Jack Wilson
9. Pitcher
When Delwyn Young is in the lineup (which should be more often then Jones and Salazar are), I’d put him in the 2 or 3 hole and move Andy back to 5, then slide everyone back from there. That’s just me though, let me know what you think. I’m heading to the game now, so let’s go bucs!

Splitlanta

Well the Pirates battled back this week after dropping the first two games of the 4 game set in heartbreaking fashion. The Pirates defeated the Braves 3-2 on Wednesday night with help from Jeff Karstens, who ironically got the win after relieving Charlie Morton (who had taken his spot in the rotation that day) after a hamstring strain and pitching 4.2 innings giving up only 1 run and eating up crucial innings for the Pirates. The game looked ugly at the beginning after Morton left, but the bullpen combined for 8 innings and 2 earned runs to help win the game for the bucs. Jason Jamarillo had an RBI base hit, and Adam LaRoche drove in 2. The crucial play of the game however was Craig Monroe scoring from 2nd on an infield single. He didn’t hesitate at all and took everyone by surprise and drew an off-line throw to score the third run for the Pirates. Matt Capps would come in with a 3-1 lead, but would give up a home run to Garrett Anderson, but would regain his composure and close the game out for his 14th save of the season. 

Today was much of the same. Paul Maholm started the game and probably had his most dominant outing of the season. He pitched 7 innings, giving up one UNearned run and striking out a season high 8. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe 8 strikeouts is a season high for any pitcher on our staff. Again, that could be wrong, but I don’t remember any pitcher having more than that. I bet you this Charlie Morton kid pulls it off though, he has outstanding stuff. Anyways, the Pirates finally hit a home run today, their first since LAST tuesday. Delwyn Young connected for his first home run as a Pirate in the 5th inning. The score was 1-1 going into the 9th. Andrew McCutchen led off the inning with a single and eventually ended up on 3rd base. Adam LaRoche was intentionally walked and then stole second without a throw. This gave Andy the opportunity to drive 2 runs in, which he did, on the 8th pitch of his at bat. The pitch was way off the plate but he reached out and muscled it up the middle for the game winning hit. 
Matt Capps then came on in the 9th, got 2 groundouts and then ended the game by striking out the pinch hitting Brian McCann to notch his 15th save of the season. Capps has been lights out since returning from his injury, in his last 9 appearances, he has 8 saves and a hold, while giving up only 1 run 

The Pirates are now 28-32 and are heading home for a quick 3 game homestand against the Detroit Tigers. Tomorrow the matchup is Ian Snell vs. Rick Porcello. Advantage, Tigers.


LET’S GO BUCS!!!
p.s. Due to lateness and the fact that I won’t be on a computer all day tomorrow or Saturday, I am canceling this week’s FRIDAY PICK ‘EM. The contest will be back in full force and worth DOUBLE next week, so make sure you make your picks. Sorry for any disappointment. 

Interleague… WOAHs!

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That’s right the Pirates rallied back from a 3-1 deficit after the 7th inning to beat the White Sox 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. The bucs were aided by Eric Hinske and Jack Wilson’s first home runs of the year. Hinske’s came in the 8th to pull the bucs within one and Jack’s came in the 9th with 2 outs to tie the game. After that, Nyjer Morgan doubled down into the right field corner and Delwyn Young scored him with a slap single into left. Matt Capps then came on to strike out the side, notching his 9th save of the year. It’s good to see Capps blow through 3 batters that quickly and not cause any drama.


Surprisingly, for me atleast, Jeff Karstens pitched well. He went 5.1 innings and only surrendered 3 runs. He was 2 outs away from a quality start. He gave up 5 hits and more importantly struck out that many as well. Karstens has never been a strikeout pitcher but apparently he had good stuff yesterday. I say apparently because again, I didn’t get to watch the game. I’m going to catch some of tonight’s game but I have to leave after a couple innings to play some tennis. But I don’t think any of you care about that :-P .

The Pirates are now 20-24 and looking to draw even closer to the ever sought after .500 mark. It won’t be easy though, as they face the other team in Chicago. The Cubs. We send Paul Maholm to the mound tonight, who has been terrific in his last couple outings. An interesting point was brought up in one of my live game blogs a couple games ago, that Paul Maholm has an ERA under 2.00 when Jason Jamarillo catches him and an ERA over 5.00 when Robinson Diaz catches. So let’s hope Jamarillo is behind the dish tonight. I’m sure Russell has caught onto this trend and will adjust the lineup appropriately.

In other news, my blog’s stats count continues to plummet. I have a ******** 50 views over the last 2 days and most of those were me or people clicking on the picture of BJ Upton that references my blog on google images. Maybe I should stop pouting and start commenting. That always seems to get me more viewers, and commenters ;)


I love you all.

SUCK

Ah, finally, the Pirates are beating the Brewers. Right now the game is in the 8th, so it’s not over yet, and Paul Maholm just got lifted. Paul went 7.1 innings, giving up only 1 run on 6 hits and walking only one, just another great start from Paul. I’m sure that took the bad taste from his last start (in Milwaukee) away. Surprisingly, the Pirates scored 3 runs off of Yovani Gallardo tonight. Two of these runs put a big smile on my face, because they came from the bats of Andy LaRoche and Brandon Moss. Moss tripled in the 2nd to score one, and Andy LaRoche (finally) hit a home run in the 4th to put the Pirates on top 2-1. Nate McLouth then added the 3rd run on a base hit after a Freddy Sanchez double. 

Now Tyler Yates has entered the ball game, he’s just being asked to get 2 outs and strand the inherited runner on second, then Capps will come in and (hopefully) redeem himself for Saturday’s performance and end this game and get us back over .500. Yates really makes me nervous… 
Anyway, in other league-news, Matt LaPorta hit his first home run of his career for the Indians just a couple minutes ago. That guy can rake. He went 0-4 in his debut, but right now is 1-3 with a big 2 run homer. I’m sure Cleveland fans are ecstatic about that. Love me some LaPorta.
Also, my boy Zack Greinke is on the hill today, and so far he is through 3 scoreless, and his team is up 3-0 and threatening. It’s always good to see your fantasy ace getting a lot of run support. 
Let’s just hope Yates can do his job and the Pirates can win this game and end their streak against the much-hated Brewers. Let’s go bucs! 
—edit—
and wouldn’t you know it, the bullpen comes in and wastes no time in blowing the lead and possibly the game. Yates gets one out before Grabow comes on, gives up a single to Fielder, then walks the next batter. Then Ryan Braun comes in (whom I HATE) and bloops a single into right field to score 2 and tie the game. I mean wow, you can’t get any luckier than that. He hits a ball off the end of the bat that hangs in the air forever then drops in in front of the slowest Pirate there is, Brandon Moss. I hate these Brewers SO MUCH. 
–edit–
I am so pissed. Screw the Brewers, screw John Grabow, screw Matt Capps. Way to go bullpen, I hate you. This is a game that we should easily win with a dominant performance from Maholm and enough offense to win the game on a night we didn’t think we’d get it. Screw this. I’m so sick of hearing “you’re not used to seeing this from Capps” from Greg Brown, because I’m starting to actually get used to it. He’s not good, he has never been anything special, they treat him like he’s an elite closer here, but he’s been nothing but awful when the Pirates need him most. Let Evan Meek pitch the 9th for Gods sake I can’t take another loss like this. 

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeep!!

The Pirates defeated the Marlins for the third consecutive time today, winning the game 7-3. It was another close, well played and hard fought game for the bucs. Let’s wrap up this homestand and head on to the offday tomorrow where we will look forward to our 6 game road trip!

  • Paul Maholm pitched today and got his 3rd consecutive win. This was no doubt his least effective start of the year, but he still pitched very well. He gave up 4 runs in 6 innings while striking out 4 and walking only 1. It shows that Paul Maholm isn’t perfect and could possibly lose a couple of games this year, but the offense didn’t let it happen today.
  • The offense hit the ball all through the game, scoring in 5 of their 8 offensive innings. Adam LaRoche led the offense today with 4 hits (one gift), 2 runs and 1 RBI. Before this week LaRoche’s performance was a very pleasant surprise, but after the Doumit injury, I’d say that it is now a vital occurrence.
  • Andy LaRoche had a clutch RBI double in the 5th after Brandon Moss was intentionally walked for the 2nd time in the game. The Marlins obviously didn’t find LaRoche as much of a threat today, and although he struck out with the bases loaded in the first, he made them pay in the 5th. I guess the Marlins haven’t noticed how awful Brandon Moss has been at the plate lately. Oh well, our gain.
  • Nyjer Morgan created a run of his own as well today. He singled in Delwyn Young, who collected his first hit as a bucco in the form of a 1 out double, and Nyjer then went on to steal third base and score on an overthrow by (former Pirate) Ronny Paulino. I guess it wasn’t that terrible of a throw, so some blame should go to Emilio Bonifacio as well. Nyjer’s play has been consistently terrific, let’s hope he can keep that up.
  • The bullpen also did more great work today, giving up no runs in 3 innings of work. Jesse Chavez and Sean Burnett combined for one of those innings of work, setting down their hitters 1-2-3. John Grabow was excellent, striking out the side in the 8th, and Matt Capps finished the game up with his 5th successful save conversion. He is a perfect 5/5 in save opportunities this year. It’s really uplifting to see the bullpen pitching well right along with their starting rotation.

Well the Pirates are done with their first homestand of the year, a stretch in which they went 6-3. their record is now at a beautiful 9-6 record and if the Cubs and Cardinals lose tonight, the Pirates could be tied for the division lead. I’m expecting to see more Pirates on Baseball Tonight!

Tomorrow is an offday, but I’ll think of something to make a post for :)

Pick ‘Em Friday contestants, get your picks in! I’ll post mine tomorrow.

.500 again

There was a great baseball game played tonight in Pittsburgh, and for the first time since Monday, it was played by the home team! Paul Maholm took the mound to get the team off of the schneid, and he did it in sparkling fashion. It was a pitchers duel that Maholm came out on top of. 

FIRST OFF, I’d just like to say how amazing our new Friday jerseys are. I mean dang, those things are incredible. I’m going to love watching Friday night baseball in Pittsburgh this summer, I might have to go buy me one of those. 
Maholm went 7 innings giving up 4 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts all while not giving up a run. He had a solid 1-2-3 first inning, but then got himself in some trouble in the 2nd. He loaded the bases with a walk and a pair of base hits, but then got one hitter to pop into a “fielders choice”, which was actually a rather odd play, and then got Jordan Schafer to ground back to him to start the inning ending 1-2-3 double play. After that it was smoother sailing, and Maholm cruised through 5 more innings of shut out ball. The Bucs scraped out a run in the bottom of the 2nd thanks to a Brandon Moss triple and an Andy LaRoche groundout RBI. Andy played a heck of a game, he’s finally getting some confidence, and that confidence should take off after tonight’s game. He played great in the field and had a couple of great at bats. I’m watching the game archive back now because I couldn’t watch it on TV because of the Penguins game (which made me very angry), and I just realized that Jordan Schafer made an absolutely terrible play to let Moss reach 3rd, but Kelly Johnson made a great play to rob Andy LaRoche of a hit. 
The story ended with a couple of the club’s young stars. Nate McLouth POUNDED a home run to right field to put the bucs up 3-0. After that John Grabow and Matt Capps pitched 2 perfect innings and the Pirates were back at 5-5! 
It feels really good to know that the Pirates are going to have a really great chance to win every 5th day, we haven’t had that kind of feeling in awhile. Also, Zach Duke is starting to look like he could give us that feeling twice every 5 days. This could be a much less frustrating season… of course I say that having only seen Jeff Karstens pitch once. Ian Snell showed signs that he might not be absolutely putrid in his last start, but we’ll get a better feel for him tomorrow. The Braves are loaded with left handed bats, so it’s not a good match up for the Pirates tomorrow afternoon. Let’s just pray that the offense shows up tomorrow. 

Well first off, here are the results from week 1 of Pick ‘Em Fridays, congrats to Mets Go for correctly picking 10/15 games and earning the #1 spot. Week1 Final.png

Now, back to business. The Pirates defeated the Reds 10-2 today, improving their record to 3-2 on the year. Paul Maholm pitched brilliantly, and the offense really picked it up late in the game. Ryan Doumit hit a grand slam and Adam LaRoche hit a solo shot in the ninth to put the game from 5-1 to 10-1. Jesse Chavez struggled in the ninth but ended up only giving up one run thanks to terrible base-running by Jay Bruce. Nate McLouth went yard in the first inning for his 2nd hit of 2009 and his 2nd 2-run homer of the year. That blast put the Pirates up early and they never looked back. I really want to highlight the performance of Nyjer Morgan.

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Nyjer had 3 more hits today, raising his average to .391 on the young 2009 season. Morgan seems to do something exciting every time he comes to the plate. Today he took out Ramon Hernandez while scoring a run, and in the ninth he broke up a double play beautifully that led to the final 5 runs of the game for the Pirates. He hit a triple today, that almost everyone else on this roster would have stopped with a double on. Nyjer stole 2 bases today and neither of them were even close. His play has really energized the Pirates, and he’s been one of the most effective players in the league this week. If it weren’t for players like Emilio Bonafacio and Joey Votto, I think Nyjer would have a legitimate shot at winning the NL Player of the Week. All of this after he got all kinds of doubt from Pirate fans. I have always been a supporter of Nyjer, but I never really saw this coming. Most Pittsburghers are just counting the days until Andrew McCutchen comes up, I am also very excited for his arrival in Pittsburgh, but I have no problem letting him stay in Indianapolis for a couple months while Nyjer helps the Pirates win.

Paul Maholm pitched an amazing game today, adding to the Pirates recent string of good starts. The Pirates have played 5 games and gotten 4 great starts. Ian Snell struggled, which might have been in part effected by the flu he was fighting, but Maholm, Duke, and Ohlendorf all look great. This is a great sign for the Pirates, because if we want to have any kind of chance of being a respected team in the league this year, we’re going to need above average pitching.

Another great thing that happened for me today was that I got tickets for Wednesday’s Pirate game for a buck a piece! Section 139, which are amazing seats.

It’s buck night at the game, so Hot Dogs, Popcorn, and Drinks are all only a dollar. This means I’ll be attending the Pirates first 2 home games of the year, and I couldn’t be more excited! It always makes the first week at home a lot better when the club goes into it with a winning record. We know that this year they won’t go in with a losing record, and if Ian Snell holds his own against Aaron Harang tomorrow, we could be 4-2 heading home! Let’s Go Bucs!
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