Few of you probably remember the original, long-winded title of my blog.  It was:  "Losing the 1992 NLCS was the undoing of the Pittsburgh Pirates," a John Smoltz quote from Barry Bonds’ short-lived television show.

It’s too soon to completely write them off, but if Boston doesn’t recover from the devastating set that just ended at Fenway, you could hear something like this:

"Losing the five-game-September-series was the undoing of the Boston Red Sox."

There’s still plenty of baseball to be played in 2006, but with only 38 games remaining on their schedule, Boston trails New York by 6.5 games in the AL East and Chicago by 4.5 in the wild card.  The Red Sox still have four more games against the Yanks this year, but unfortunately for the Boston faithful they’ll be played in the House the Ruth Built in September–a place that Steinbrenner’s boys don’t often lose.

This five-game sweep, the first such stretch for the Yanks against the Sox in nearly 55 years, was wire-to-wire domination by the Yankees.  The men in white took the occasional lead, but come crunch time, it was the Jeters, Posadas, Damons, and Giambis who made sure that their pin-striped brethren would have an excellent shot at seeing October yet again.  It was a demoralizing loss for Boston, Massachusetts, New England, and even America as a whole–but in the Bronx, it’s party time.

You know in For Love of the Game when Jane tells Billy Chapel that he’s perfect, that he can win or lose the game all by himself?  That’s Victor Santos to a T, except for the parts about being perfect and winning.

After a strong effort Friday night at Great American Ballpark that saw the Reds fall 7-3, our Bucs suffered 14-7 and 5-1 setbacks, allowing Cincinnati to stay within 2.5 games of the division-leading Cardinals and maintain their two game edge over Arizona and San Diego in the wild card standings.  The recent magnificent outings by Pirates starting pitchers were nowhere to be found, as both Paul Maholm and Santos yielded ten hits in five innings of work; despite striking out seven Reds apiece, Paul let seven runners cross the plate, and Victor five.

The Pittsburgh Lumber Company put on a show in the first two games of the series but vanished before the start of Sunday’s contest.  Xavier Nady continued swinging a hot bat and Jason Bay launched a solo Bucco blast–his 27th of the season–but Freddy Sanchez went 0-4 and struck out twice, and Jeromy Burnitz, Jose Castillo, and Humberto Cota also went hitless.  The bullpen, which had fallen apart in a seven run seventh inning on Saturday, performed up to expectations in the day game, with Damaso Marte, Matt Capps, and Mike Gonzalez each throwing a scoreless inning.

Zach Duke starts on Monday against John Smoltz and the rest of the Atlanta Braves.  He was moved up to give Tom Gorzelanny some extra rest–Tracy denies that this is the start of a six-man rotation–but #57 will be joined by the likes of Chacon, Gorzo, Snell, Maholm, and Santos on the hill for the forseeable future.  Perhaps in September we’ll see John Van Benschoten make a couple of big league starts, as he’s doing extremely well on his rehab assignment.  The former top draft pick recently had an extended outing for AAA Indianapolis.

The Bucs take on the Braves for three games until coming home Thursday for the Astros and Skyblast.  Let’s build up some momentum heading into the last month of the season.

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

Our Bucs are trailing 7-6 heading into the bottom of the sixth frame, but I’m not here to talk about the game quite yet.  I want to take a second to look the lineup:

1. Bautista, CF
2. Wilson, SS
3. Sanchez, 3B
4. Bay, LF
5. Nady, RF
6. Paulino, C
7. Hernandez, 1B
8. Castillo, 2B
9. Maholm, P

1-2 and 5-9 can be left alone for the moment.  I’d like you to take a look at spots #3 and #4 in the murderer’s row that is our Pittsburgh Pirates starting nine.

Without mentioning the names Papi or Manny, please tell me who you’d rather have than Freddy Sanchez and Jason Bay hitting in the middle of your lineup.  I can’t think of a Major League Baseball team that is more blessed than the Bucs.  All Freddy does is get on base (2-2, BB today to get to .354), and all Jason does is drive him in (2-3, HR, 3 RBI).  Bay’s producing A-Rod numbers (.295-26-84 now) this year, and Sanchez is going to win a batting crown.  Granted, Freddy might be suited for a spot higher in the lineup, but for where he is, he’s performing more than capably.

Just thought I’d give a shout out to the nucleus of the 2007 team.  Here’s hoping our guys keep hitting, and hitting, and hitting some more.

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

Oh what a difference a Bay makes.

The offense was humming on Friday night with the returns of Jason Bay and Jack Wilson to the starting lineup (and with the Reds starting a relief pitcher, the game being played in the Great American Homerun Park, etc.) as our Bucs stopped their losing streak at two and won their fifteenth game of the year away from home.  The Pirates are now 15-45 on the road and 8-32 in games started by a southpaw.

After shuffling through a three-game series with the Brewers without our superstar–a set at PNC Park that saw Pittsburgh score only nine runs on 27 hits in three games–the Pirates broke out in Cincinnati to the tune of seven runs and 15 hits in a thumping of the still-contending Reds.  Freddy Sanchez (.351) and Xavier Nady (3 RBI) had four-hit games, Bay and Ronny Paulino each chipped in two knocks, and Jack Wilson, Jose Castillo, and Ian Snell each had one hit and drove in a run.

Snell improved to 11-8 and gave the Bucs another quality start, going 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 K.  He allowed four bases on balls, three of which came in the same inning that contributed to the first Cincinnati run.  John Grabow and Britt Reames each allowed the Reds to chalk up a tally in their innings of relief work, but the Reds couldn’t manage to overcome a strong Pirates effort.

Over 31,000 Cincinnati fans left G.A.B. with a bitter taste in their mouths as they watched their squad drop an important game to the worst team in the National League.  Last weekend, the Bucs took a series from St. Louis that allowed the Reds to hang around in the NL Central and wildcard races; now, we’re looking to even up the score.  Wouldn’t it be great to sweep the top two teams in the divison on consecutive Sundays?

Paul Maholm (5-10, 4.58) against Eric Milton (8-7, 5.01) tonight at 6:10.  Let’s see if we can’t defy the statistics and get to another lefty starter on the road.

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

Here’s the lineup for tonight’s 7:10 contest at Cincinnati:

1. Chris Duffy, CF
2. Jack Wilson, SS
3. Freddy Sanchez, 3B
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Xavier Nady, 1B
6. Ronny Paulino, C
7. Jose Bautista, RF
8. Jose Castillo, 2B
9. Ian Snell, P

I’ve never been so happy to see Jack and Jason on the field; for the last few days, the offense has been sputtering without them.  Maybe we can do something to bring up Chris Michalak’s 1.35 ERA now…

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

Let’s play fantasy front office.  What do you do when you have four pitchers in your starting rotation who are 25-years-old or younger, who are talented and special but also approaching new personal highs for innings pitched in a season; who you’re banking on to bring you out of a miserably long streak of losing seasons but who may be headed on the way to burnout.  If you’re affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club, you choose to suggest a six-man rotation.

Paul Dickson’s The New Baseball Dictionary recognizes the four-man and five-man rotations, but a six-man rotation doesn’t make the cut for his book of listings.  Dickson, who gives definitions and etymologies for even the most obscure baseball terms, apparently doesn’t believe that a starting rotation featuring six arms instead of five has enough historical precedent to be associated with his exhaustive glossary.  Nor do I.

When a fan hears six-man rotation in a baseball conversation, he also hears the words "temporary" or "for a turn or two," meaning that a sixth pitcher will be added to the mix for a couple of weeks (at a maximum).  In the last century of organized baseball, there have been times where pitchers have thrown regularly on five days of rest instead of four:  think of instances where a starter is reinstated from the disabled list a little too early, or when a team plays twenty games in nineteen days, and so on.  More often than not, though, teams will implement a four-man rotation, choosing to remove a weaker pitcher from the mix in an effort to maximize the number of times their aces can throw down the stretch.  Not often do managers feel the need to further water down their pitching and insert a lesser player into a starting role.

Nevertheless, Jim Tracy, Dave Littlefield, and the rest of the Pirates braintrust have proposed using a six-man rotation for the remaining 41 games in 2006.  With Ian Snell, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, and Tom Gorzelanny about to hit their ceilings for innings pitched (the organization sets a goal of keeping pitchers within 20 IP over their previous full-season maximums), both Victor Santos and Shawn Chacon would be asked to throw every sixth day for the last month and a half of the year to lessen the burden our rookies are shouldering.  Ryan Vogelsong, Britt Reames, Sean Burnett, Shane Youman, Marty McLeary, and Jason Roach, all starters at one point for AAA Indianapolis, could take major league starts in September when the Pirates roster is expanded to 40 men to fill out the sixth starter’s spot.  The Bucs could also go the Mark Prior route and prematurely shut down one or more of their aces in the rough under the guise of injury prevention and run out even more AAA talent to the hill.

I’m a fence-sitter in the debate over whether or not a six-man rotation is good for our Big Four.  On one hand, I want to see our starting rotation thrive for years in Pittsburgh, injury-free and stronger than ever.  On the other, I don’t want to disrupt their routines or alter their mechanics, as big league pitchers are very set in their ways.

From club to club, between-start-routines vary–but all of Major League Baseball’s teams have programs that their starting five follow on the days in which they’re not scheduled to pitch.  Practices include throwing bullpen sessions, long-tossing, watching film, running, lifting, and stretching, and all are meant to keep their pitching-related skills sharp.  All a pitcher has is his control–ask Rick Ankiel and Steve Blass–and when he can’t locate the plate, his days are numbered.  Off day routines allow big leaguers to get into a rhythm that they can follow from March until October in order to be as consistent in their appearances as possible.

So, if you’re the decision-maker for the Pirates, it comes down to which risk you’d rather take.  Do you cut down on the number of innings thrown to reduce the risk of tired arms in the future?  Do you let the pitchers throw a couple fewer starts but gamble with the possibility of tinkering with their precious mechanics–something that Jim Colborn and Jim Tracy already admitted to doing in April with disastrous results?  It’s an either-or choice, but I’m not sure that I can agree wholeheartedly with one option.

In the last few times through the rotation, our starters have been as strong as any in Major League Baseball.  Our young pitchers have been putting things together, and have even drawn comparisons (albeit probably undeservingly) to the Atlanta Braves teams of the early 90’s that relied on young guns named Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery.  While they have a ways to go to make good on those analogies–think .500 baseball, then playoffs, then World Series Championships and Cy Young Awards–our guys are undeniably possessors of skill and potential.  Hopefully the decision made in 2006 will work out and allow 2007 and onward to be glory days for Pittsburgh baseball.

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

EDIT:  Read Brady’s post "Going, Going, Gone" at http://inthecards.mlblogs.com for a look at what’s happening to an overworked Mark Mulder.  I’m not saying Duke’s arm’s going to fall off, but you never know.

The Bucs played another long game on getaway day, this one a thirteen inning affair against Milwaukee.  For the second time in as many days, Damaso Marte ruined a quality start from a Pirates pitcher and took the loss for the Bucs to fall to 0-7.  Now I really want Rob Mackowiak back.

I can’t refer to my own scorebook, as I was at the game on a date and wasn’t quite sure of scorekeeping etiquette in such situations, so I’ll have to go by Pirates.com’s box and recap as I usually do.  (By the way, the girl picked up one of the $1 cards at the park and kept score with some help–definitely a turn-on.  The fact that she’s a Pirates fan takes it to a new level.)

Two items were extremely evident yesterday:  Zach Duke is coming around, and the Pirates can’t hit without Jason Bay and Jack Wilson in the lineup.  The Duke of Hurl scattered nine hits over 6.2 innings, and allowed only one run to cross the plate during his tenure on the mound (although Matt Capps did push Zach’s total to 2 ER when he allowed one of his inherited runners to score).  No walks and three K’s completed #57’s line.  He continuously pitched his way out of jams, relying on some timely defense to get him through conflicts unscathed.

When Jose Hernandez and Freddy Sanchez combine to go 5-9 from the second and third spots of the lineup, you figure the Bucs probably will have a good day at the dish.  Not so.  The rest of the Pirates went 2-35 with ten whiffs.  Chris Duffy, Joe Randa, Ronny Paulino, and Jose Castillo went oh-for-the-game.  Bay and Wilson both appeared as pinch-hitters and looked serviceable.  It looks like Bay will be back in the starting nine on Friday in Cincinnati, as Dejan originally reported.

Chris Duffy found a way to contribute even with his anemic 0-5 game at the plate.  He swiped his tenth bag of the year after drawing a walk from Jose Capellan and made a breathtaking, game-saving, out-of-your-seat catch in centerfield.  I’m really hoping that he’s back to his old self for good.  It’d save us a few million dollars in the offseason, or at least the prospects it’d take to land someone like Eric Byrnes.  (In the rest of the 2007 outfield soap opera, Rajai Davis stole his first base yesterday, and Nate McLouth will be reporting to Bradenton to work on his ankle.)

More on the pitching (and specifically, the proposed six-man rotation) later tonight or tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of the MLB games on this off day; the roadtrip starts with a set against the Reds on Friday.

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

"They got us tonight," manager Jim Tracy said. "Give them credit … It happens once in a while."

No, Jim, you got yourself tonight.  When you commit three errors in addition to a making a handful of other defensive mistakes that the official scorer graciously credited as hits, you don’t leave yourself much of a chance to win.  Tom Gorzelanny’s fifth consecutive quality start (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) was wasted because of poor fielding, lackadaisical baserunning, and ugly bullpen work.  Damaso Marte took the loss to fall to 0-6.  I want Rob Mackowiak back.

I’m keeping this post short because I need to get ready to go to today’s matinee featuring Zach Duke and Chris Capuano.  The businessman’s special goes off at 12:35.  Hopefully the Bucs remember to bring their gloves to the park.

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

Check out Dejan’s article at the PG:  Neil Walker and Andrew McCutcheon to AA, and Vic Buttler to AAA.  "Tomorrow" is getting closer to today.

The sun’s shining in Pittsburgh and blue sky abounds–it’s a great day for baseball.  Let’s see if Mr. Gorzelanny can build on his personal string of four consecutive quality starts and push the winning streak to five.

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

This season he’s hit .283 with a [league]-best 45 stolen bases. And in July, the 25-year-old center fielder batted .441. The speed he can offer [his team] in late-game situations was particularly intriguing to [his manager].

Carl Crawford?  Chone Figgins?  A younger Kenny Lofton?

Nope.  It’s Rajai Davis, who gets to play with the big boys now that Nate McLouth is serving time on the disabled list with a bum ankle.  Davis is the International League’s most prolific base stealer, and although he probably won’t get much playing time until his September promotion, he does provide a late-inning spark from Tracy’s limited bench.  Rajai’s audition starts now for a spot in the 2007 Pittsburgh outfield.  Duffy, McLouth, and Davis all can’t make the club next year–one will likely need to be shipped out of town in the offseason.  The last forty games of the season will determine who stays and who goes.

Monday night’s victory made four Pirates wins in a row as Pittsburgh toppled Milwaukee, 4-2.  Victor Santos gave the Bucs five decent innings of four hit ball while surrendering the two Brewer runs, and the bullpen combination of Torres-Grabow-Capps-Gonzalez shut down the opposition from the sixth inning on.

More importantly, though, check out the boxscore and the lineup:

Duffy (cf)/ Wilson (ss)/ Sanchez (3b)/ Nady (1b)/ Burnitz (rf)/ Paulino (c)/ Bautista (lf)/ Castillo (2b)/ Santos (p)

That’s right, no Jason Bay.  His consecutive games streak was stopped voluntarily by Jim Tracy; frankly, I’m glad it was.  When the Bucs are playing meaningful games in July, August, and September in 2008 or 2009, I want our manager to be able to sit Bay down when he needs a day off (much like Big Papi was rested before a stressful week of games for the Red Sox this week) without worrying about another Ironman run.

In Bay’s stead, Jeromy Burnitz belted another homerun; Chris Duffy had a 2-4, 2 R, SB night hitting leadoff; Jose Castillo went 2-3 with a Bucco Blast from the eighth spot; Freddy Sanchez drove in another run and went 1-3 to leave his average at .345.  The lineup might’ve been more productive with Bay batting cleanup instead of Xavier Nady (0-4, 3 K), but we sat down our slugger and still got a win.  Can’t beat that.

JB is playing like he really wants to be moved in the next two weeks.  Monday’s game was vintage Burnitz:  a strikeout, a homer, and some mediocre defense.  I’m hoping Omar Minaya gives DL a call.

A few quickies before I wrap things up:

• Gonzo boomed his way to save #21 and remained perfect on the season after another two strikeout ninth.  Why do I keep hearing his name mentioned in potential offseason trades?
• Freddy Sanchez stole his second base of the year.  With all of the hustle we see from Steady, you’d think he’d run more often.
• Jack left the game with an injury and was replaced by Jose Hernandez.  Shouldn’t be serious.
• A-Rod:  113 G, 429 AB, .287 BA, 25 HR, 85 RBI, 19 2B, 11 SB
• J-Bay:  118 G, 422 AB, .291 BA, 25 HR, 81 RBI, 22 2B, 7 SB

Doug Davis and Tom Gorzelanny tonight at 7:05.  Five in a row and back-to-back series wins?  Sure, why not.

It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"