DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
Morning, Lunatics …
• The Sunday column will, in fact, be a Sunday column. I’m heading back out to Latrobe today for more Steelers. I’ll write live from the scene for the latest perspective and file at the first chance.
• Going to do the same Monday, by the way, with the opening of Pitt football camp. You’ll get it right from the scene, and at the first chance. Hopefully, this will be another of the features that helps set this site apart.
• The Diamondbacks stink and got pummeled again, but they did exact revenge for Paul Goldschmidt’s hand getting fractured Friday night when Randall Delgado got Andrew McCutchen in the back — 95 mph and hard — last night.
There will be all kinds of gnashing about that today. There already was in the immediate aftermath, not least of which was Bob Walk’s epic postgame rant on Root Sports.
Sorry, but if I’m the Pirates, all my ire is aimed at one guy: Ernesto Frieri.
And not just because he, like the Diamondbacks, stinks and got pummeled again. But rather, because his stupidity and/or lack of command made this mess in the first place by hitting Goldschmidt. He had no business going high and tight on the guy. None. And spare me the stuff about needing to pitch inside. That was a terrible pitch by a terrible pitcher.
The Pirates have no reason to have been carrying the guy in the first place, and he shouldn’t be accompanying them on the flight home from Phoenix much later tonight.
• Good for the Riverhounds to outrun Los Angeles and keep hope for the playoffs, even without Jose Angulo. I was over at Highmark Stadium, and it was almost as impressive to see the strong support despite a steady, sometimes heavy rain. Lots and lots of fun had. I’ll say it again: All this team has to do is win. The other ingredients are in place.
• Thanks, as always, for reading. And for your support of the site. It was very encouraging to hear from some of the soccer fans at the stadium that they’re signing up.
Perhaps Ike Davis shouldn’t be accompanying the Pirates on the flight home from Phoenix much later tonight either…
No – it is all Pedro’s fault – he has scared Davis with his thaws…
I actually had a guy tell me this in the check out line at Giant Eagle today – and I think he really believed it.
Frieri has stunk but had no intention of hitting Goldschmidt. D-Backs are a lousy franchise top to bottom who declared war on teams for beanball pre season, and has had this nonsense with at least 5 times this yr. There is a reason manager and GM will be gone from AZ at years end
No doubt. Kevin Towers and Kirk Gibson must be the worst GM/Manager combo since Dave Littlefield and Jim Tracy. Gibson is a mental midget with absolutely no clue how to manage.
Do we question the coaching staff at all for putting Frieri out there in the first place? Just inviting danger, imo
Or, to take that solid point a step further, why is Frieri even on the roster?
I agree he should be Indy w/ Pedro. But your implication is every time there is a mistake, retaliation is justified.
when it never is
To save a bit of front office face after the Grilli trade? Can’t be any other reason.
The mistake at trading deadline was not adding to the pen. It still can be done now & must be done. We also need 3b help because Pedro can’t play there & Morel probably is not the answer.
Been wondering that since day one.
I have to agree with Clint Novak on this one. And Doc. Slow motion showed how Goldschmidt MOVED INTO the pitch from Frieri. Not making excuses, just pointing out that right now, the Dbacks look pretty Garage League. And if no fine is issued, so does MLB
If watson let it get away, it would have been ok…you know why? Because pitches get away from good pitchers and bad pitchers…no intention. No reason at that point in game for purpose…stop it.
Said the same thing about Frieri. No way can they continue to try and hide him in the middle of a pennant race for the next month. Especially when you are still trying to hide Pimentel and not use Gomez all that much. Gee maybe they should’ve traded for bullpen help!!
Ya think?! We’ve got monster problems now – bullpen and BOTH corners (oh, and cracks in the starting pitching). FO is going to be under tremendous pressure going forward, especially after addressing nothing at the deadline.
Under pressure from WHOM?
The plan is working as planned – great margins and the fans are lemmings – sell outs for the rest of the season are guaranteed.
So if a guy is driving somewhat poorly, and scratches your car in the parking lot by mistake,
It is OK to hit him with your car?
I know what you are saying is “If I hit him, it is his mistake for driving poorly in the first place” But that is the excuse my children make
Bring back Mike Crotta!
Agreed, Frieri should not be on the roster.
The question is, why is he? Face-saving by Huntington in the Grilli trade?
Just plain weird, if you ask me, to keep a player who clearly is not deserving to be on a MLB team.
Strange and unusual stuff from the FO. (Again).
I might be the only one who likes frieri on the roster, my reasoning for that is he’s under contract for next year and has the talent (and history) to be an elite bullpen arm.. I have no doubt he will be next year.. the problem though is we’re already trying to hide stolmy on the roster as well.. I personally wouldn’t cut either, but I agree it’s a lot of dwad weight to carry for a playoff contender
If Frieri is elite, then I REALLY AM Mother Theresa….smh
On the other local sport tonight, it was great to visit town and see such a good game at Highmark. From the standing room side, a lot of seats empty but it FELT like a great, invested and enthusiastic crowd. I left impressed and can’t wait to see another game.
I wanted to go to the Riverhounds game with my kids, but no tickets were available other than a handful of isolated single seats- it was essentially a sellout. Any empty seats were no shows. They need more seats in that place, 2nd time this year this has happened to me…
Cmon Dejan. You really gonna go after Frieri for pitching inside to Goldschmidt? You have to nibble on the outside corner because your team has a big lead in the 9th inning? Really? What you should be going after Frieri for is not drilling one of them tonight, especially Montero.
DK, I thought Arroyo’s quote about pitching inside from MLB.COM was spot on. Especially, in Fieri’s case where he is actually trying to save his job.
Where was Martin’s glove on pitch to Goldschmidt? Nowhere near where Frieri threw it. Frieri did the exact same thing to Hill last night. At least Hill got out of the way. While Cutch was right, chickenturd move by AZ, getting hit in 9th after a slider, retaliating not good idea.
It was a bad pitch, but Goldy didn’t help himself by turning his hands into it. The real culprits are the D-Bags’ coaches who escalated the situation. And Walk was 100% correct – if you think you deserve “justice,” get it in the first inning, Snakes.
It was all the fault of Gibson and, possibly, Harkey. They took a non-incident, an errant inside pitch w unfortunate results, & turned it into a mess. Even still, Del Gado didn’t need to throw 95 & up. He was PO’d from Cutch’s wall ball Friday, IMO.
Pitcher Bronson Arroyo was a little more understanding. Although he was upset Goldschmidt may miss the rest of the season, he said he doesn’t expect opposing pitchers to throw down the middle — no matter the score.
“I find it hard to believe that anybody on the defensive side of the ball could honestly say there’s … some point in the game where you don’t throw inside,” he said.
“There’s a lot of guys that are fighting tooth-and-nail to stay in the Major Leagues, and to tell a guy like that to give up two runs in the ninth inning because you’re team’s up by seven because you can’t pitch inside is crazy.”
Credit MLB.COM
socialpolling_verb
You’re right, DK, this time I don’t agree with you. Retribution for an accidental hit is childish and poor sportsmanship, no matter what team is exacting the revenge. The pitcher who hits a batter with a 95 mph fastball on purpose is a thug and should be subject to discipline.
I agree with this sentiment viscerally. But baseball has it’s established ‘rules’ and DK wrote a very good piece about just this, about a week ago. Sometimes there are rules, and then there are ‘rules.’
I agree with Walk, do it in the first inning. Of course, if you do that, you know you’ll lose your starter. Either way, you don’t do it with a 95 MPH fastball, unless you’re Bob Gibson or Sal Maglie.
Meanwhile, there’s just no stopping Josh Harrison. Found out today, first from Barb, then from the game story at DK’s most recent employer, that Pedro has no options left. Don’t remember Pirates using them all up. But anyway, permanently demote Pedro to the bench and see if…
Pedro pitches tomorrow. 100 mph heat. Possibility of “control issues.” Gets tossed. Frankie comes in.
… just being allowed to focus on hitting off bench gives him traction. Give him till playoff rosters must be set 8/31. If he shows turnaround, convert him to 1st baseman over winter. If not, might be time to trade or DFA him… In any event, it’s time to let Harrison have…
…a position to call his own. Right now, he still has to divide himself between taking practice reps all over the field. Imagine if he could concentrate on just the angles, throws and glove work specific to 3rd base. I say 3rd is his. Barmes is soon back for utility IF anyway.
Here is a question for you. Say you jettison Pedro and rely on Jayhay at third. What are you doing for insurance in case Jayhay turns back into that .240 hitter with little to no power? The ladt thing you want is 0 production from both corner infielders.
J Hay has been awesome. Who follows up 5 straight Ks with 7 extra base hits? Total catalyst for the team.
Like Eric Byrnes said tonight, you don’t dare get him (Harrison) in a run down. You can’t get him out!”
Last post (maybe!). Frieri isn’t working. We took a flier on him for the same reason we did so with guys like Liriano, Volquez, Grilli, Worley, etc. Not every project works out. I don’t mind 1, 2 last road tests just to be sure, long as they’re blowout situations like tonight’s.
Can’t have it both ways, my friends. The very first column on this site — ‘That’s baseball, man’ — explored baseball’s code for this sort of thing. The sentiment therein was almost universally applauded. But as soon as the Pirates hit a guy, NOW we’re parsing intent. Uh-uh.
The “Code” calls that the retaliation occurs to the appropriate batter on the first pitch (one chance) of that batter’s next AB, not on the third pitch 5 ABs later when game conditions warrant. Cutch was on tilt, for very good reason. Today could get ugly.
That’s a great point I agree. Waited until the game was out of hand.
Have to disagree Dejan. It is about intent or perceived intent. Gibson and Trammel had to know there was no reason in the world Frieri was throwing at Goldschmidt. IMO Gibson et al found a place to vent their frustration that their team and especially their bullpen sucks.
I don’t like Frieri, but you can’t fault the guy for trying to keep his job. And go back and look where Martin’s target was, he was rightfully trying to help him keep his job. Bad pitch, only retribution now should be Cutch gets a free shot in Ernie’s back and be done with it.
This is a terrific rebuttal.
LOL, Derek!
Frieri’s pitch was nothing unusual. Pitches like that happen all the time – inside, but not way inside. So, the fact that Goldschmidt couldn’t get his hands out of the way changes that fact? I don’t get it.
Agreed Jim.
Exactly, if some construed twisting of logic faults Frieri, Charlie Morton better pack it up and go home.
A billion dollar industry should not condone a game of chicken played with projectiles because of some archaic norms developed in 19th century.
Is it time to trade Pedro? Could he bring the reliever they need? What kind of depth do they have at 3b if a is gone?
And get what in return, Radio? He just can’t play right now, for us or for anybody…and he needs the right shrink to fix him, with no guarantee he’ll be fixed.
Exactly to the point. I couldn’t believe he pitched again in the 9nth last night. Why is he on the roster? Best we could attract with a stale piece of cheese. . ..
JAL’s Leaving on a Jet Plane Morning Links
1 Arizona Republic
Diamondbacks’ Randall Delgado plunks Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen: Wayward pitch or retaliation?
http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2014/08/03/diamondbacks-randall-delgado-plunks-pirates-andrew-mccutchen-wayward-pitch-retaliation/13538381/
2 Johnstown Tribune-Democrat
Ex-Pirate returns to city: Rennie Stennett recalls AAABA experiences
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/x864259564/Ex-Pirate-returns-to-city-Rennie-Stennett-recalls-AAABA-experiences
3 Pirates Site
Cutch upset over hit-by-pitch: ‘I don’t forget’
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/pit/pirates-star-andrew-mccutchen-livid-after-getting-hit-by-pitch-by-d-backs?ymd=20140803&content_id=87737560&vkey=news_pit
What an amazing coincidence! He just happens to lose his control when McCutchen is at bat. What are the odds?
Frieri: AGREE! Get him the hell off the roster! TODAY isn’t soon enough. Pedro: Hurdle sure made it sound like they’re at a tipping point in his postgame interview-will “explore all options” with the FO. Very sad state of affairs.
When Miami comes in Monday, everyone look at Morris’ record for them. But we have been led to believe Huntington’s strength is building a bullpen.
Huntington’s strength has been taking a decade + of garbage and turning it into a contender. He’s not perfect. There will be hits & misses. I read here how great Dombrowski is in Det. All that $$ & always struggles w pen. No WS yet. Same w Beane. It’s not easy. Our GM is good.
When that deal was made it was widely applauded by everyone in baseball
Well said, Jim.
Thanks, DJ. I thought NH missed 7/31 in adding to the pen. He tried to get Price/Lester, but rightly wouldn’t give up Marte. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t give up prospects. It’s that those teams wanted MLB players. But, he needs to address the pen now.
Morris got more than a fair shot HE pitched his way out of town. Maybe that scared him or motivated him – but HE was not effective as a Pirate…
BTW – GI Jones would look good at 1st base
Morris was AWFUL as a Buc, & I didn’t want to see him in one more game for us at the time he was dumped-feel the same about Frieri now. I don’t care what either one does for the next club. Just go away!
Agree on Frieri, Karen. Everyone wanted Grilli gone & they tried to catch lightning in a bottle with EF. Didn’t work. Everyone wanted Morris gone, as he was awful here. NH should have gotten 2 relievers at deadline. Needs to get them now. Frieri can’t pitch again here.
Liriano likes to throw the slider down and away. Thank goodness. No more Bean balls please. Guys get hurt in that dance. See: Starling Marte.
Marte was hit in the head & has been out 2 weeks + as a result. He gets hit in the hands quite often, as do others. Bucs have not gone on a retaliation spree. Gibson & Co. are to blame.
Gibson thinks he’s Mr. Macho.
He’s a p**sy.
. . . that would be pansy.
Ha Ha DJ, I correct Jandy all the time on that! And, I always use “pansy” as the correct word.
Thanks for the laugh today.
You were right the FIRST time…it’ p*ssy
+++
Pedro, Here’s what I would try. Pedro needs to be convinced that he has a shoulder problem. (Shouldn’t be hard for a guy looking for an excuse) On the DL he should go. 15 day DL to clear his head along with a few rehab games in Indianapolis.
He can’t come back as a 3B, though…CANNOT. If we keep him, gotta convert him to 1B.
Pedro can’t play 3b at all. He needs to work immediately on conversion to 1b. Goal should be having him take Ike’s job. We need to get his head right so his bat can still help. For now, he just PH’s. Out of options, I think.
Ike, Frieri, Gomez should all be gone. Stolmy needs to pitch more or be in AAA pitching. Bring Cumpton or Sadler back. Can’t be any worse than those guys.
Move Pedro to first now. Wouldn’t be the first guy moved during the season.
I agree that it’s worth a shot, Lucky. If he has the glove & range for 3b, which he clearly does, he can handle 1b. How quickly he can transition is the ?. Fortunately, shorter & far less throws at 1b. If that doesn’t work, flip him to AL in off-season to be a DH.
Moving Pedro to 1st is the ONLY and best solution. He can’t be any worse there than he is at 3b. He’s been playing ball all his life; he’ll adapt quickly. It gives Jayhey a home at third and removes garbage Sanchez and yikes Davis from the lineup- win-win!
I’m with Jim. We’ve got Pedro doing all the extra side-session work at 3B so why not at 1B and see how he fares? Far from ideal in mid-season (some will say impossible) but that’s going to be the only hope for him long-term. How much more could he suck over Ike/Gaby?
I don’t know if the switch to 1b can be accomplished mid-season either, DJ. But, I don’t see how he can help us any other way this yr now. I think they have to try it, or just write him off.
Wow with Harrison doing such a great job at the plate and field, can we start maybe comparing him to the former 3b Bill Matlock?
Did Madlock win 3 or 4 batting titles? He’s one of the all-time leaders in that regard. I’m not going there – although JHay is having an amazing season and has really saved this team this year. They’d be in deep doo-doo w/o him. He’ll be needed more than ever now.
I didn’t think it was possible, but the Wendy’s pretzel bun lady has overtaken Flo of Progressive Insurance for most annoying personality on TV commercials for me. I dislike her more than Kirk Gibson now.
You mean the HOT red head who wont shut up about Wendys?
That very one, Steel.
Maybe you can hook her up with Ray Rice, Jim
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the end of her 15 minutes…
Business must be good is all I can figure.
HAHAHA, Jim!
Also, why is Charlie Morton still on the big team? Why is he not At AAA? Send him down and bring up Cumpton. Charlie when he goes out does not look confident at all. Needs AAA to get back to his old self even though that was not that great!!!!
Charlie is the guy you are worried about? How bout Locke or Volquez?
If I follow correctly this team should jettison
Pedro
Ike
Gabby
Frieri
Locke
Morel
For what? Lambo, Hague, Cumpton, and what else? Sounds like half of a contending roster needs shipped out. No way.
Morton? The pitcher with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.223 WHIP, the best of career so far. ERA second lowest of his career
I’m a lot more worried about Locke. Morton is fine.
Yeah because sending a .249 hitter to a different position mid season makes him that much better. NOT!
DFA him and if someone wants to claim Pedro, Scott and the 4 million a year salary to chuck routine grounders into the stands, So be it! If not then off to Indy Pedro.
He’s in the mid=.230′s SK, like Ike and Gaby is in the low .220′s. Now Lambo on the other hand is still in the the .300′s at Indy.
Unfortunately guys dont have Major League breaking balls at AAA.
Which BTW…He would be claimed. But so what! You cant keep a guy who doesnt play because if you play him he loses games for you. Geez, When he plays he raise 8 guys WAR instantly.
Why just release Pedro, Steel? He led the league in HR last year, plus hit more in the playoffs. Even if he never plays 3b again, he has big value as a 1b and DH. 30+ HR guys are few and far between today. There are AL teams who would love to acquire his bat, I think.
Youve got Cole and Marte coming back. Alvarez cannot play right now. He just cant. You cant just let him sit on the roster. In the MLB roster space is extremely valuable. I dont no the answer other than being creative with the DL.
Pedro CAN’T be sent to Indy, people…NO options left…
Oh…sorry Steelking…misread – you did say “DFA.”
Have the Diamondbacks NOT been scouting the Pirates lately!? Ernesto has been awful and has lost most of his command. Gibson and McKay stirred this pot and have their fingerprints all over it. Ernesto’s was clearly an accident. Cutch’s was clearly intentional.
Frieri has spent most of his career with a BB/9 over 4.2. Hes never had control. This is another example of NH saying to Ray Searage…”Fix This”. Aint happening this time…Cut bait
Know that Grilli was on decline but hard to believe Frieri was the best deal to be had. Cannot have a non-strikethrower in BP . . . can’t. Tries hard to emulate Pedro Martinez with right leg recoil on his follow-through but he’s a wannabe. Dump him. Move on.
And this on Aaron Donald: http://www.cardiachill.com/2014/7/26/5940549/st-louis-rams-training-camp-aaron-donald-updates-news-pitt-football-pittsburgh-panthers.
No one is surprised. A beast.
He continues to make everyone at Pitt and Penn Hills proud, DJ.
Where has Arriba Wilver disappeared to? Miss his dust-ups, followed by the love-fest, with Jandhi.
Poor AW, I did drive him to distraction for a bit there
Anyone know when MLB players will be placed on and clearing waivers for the trade deadline at the end of the month?
I think it is quietly happening as we speak, Dom.
I think it will still be a few weeks. Closer to the deadline. I also dont think it is public knowledge until after the player has cleared and no one has claimed him.
Too bad the Pirates don’t have Vic Black anymore. I mean they didn’t resign either Byrd or Morneau, so kink of wasted the whole thing. Also, giving up Bryan Morris for a draft pick doesn’t seem that great either.
We are defending Bryan Morris now? Yikes. And we are complaigning about Vic Black for Marlon Byrd. So you want to trade that playoff appearance just to still have Black available right now? Cmon.
Most important piece of the Marlon Byrd deal was Dilson Herrera.
.342 /.409 /.966 at AA is not too shabby.
Speaking of which on Herrera:
http://nypost.com/2014/08/01/is-dilson-herrera-the-mets-second-baseman-of-the-future/
DK, IMO if the snakes wanted to impose the ‘code’ than they needed to do it early in the game. Could not agree more about the gutless nature of their retaliation. Looked like he was hit by pitch that was only couple inches inside and really wasn’t by his head.
I think it’s ok to take a shot at cutch….because it’s clear Gibson condones these types of “wars” (he’s such a toolbar btw)…but as cutch pointed out, you can’t bury a slider then come back upstairs with heat. Not that he should have been surprised that the punk chickened out
I agree that retaliation needs to come early. However when warnings are issued in pre game you dont want to waste that starting pitcher.
My issue isnt so much with the waiting. Or with the fact cutch got plunked. It was that it was done with a 95 mph fast ball to the spine.
Did they call up Cole yet? Maybe they can have him throw a ‘bullpen’ during the game today, if you’re pickin up what i’m puttin down. Or maybe it will be up to Wilson again.
Well, on a positive note, even Boras would have to lower his demands for a Pedro extension now.
Maybe TPTB thot Pedro would settle in like Mike Schmidt, who was horrible at 3rd his first season … There’s too much power potential to give him away. Move him to first, get fat and happy, and hit 50 homers. TBMTIB has messed with his head (diet, etc) since he was signed.
Frieri has pretty good stuff….but he’s not finding it fast enough….no point in keeping this fight up up….
Lambo now.
Pedro….I may light a candle for him after mass. Come on bull!
Frieri has shown me nothing. Stinks. (Credit to Milo)
I am curious about one thing with Pedro. Everybody’s saying “get rid of him” or demote him (which can’t be done). I wonder if they’ve tried to put him on waivers. Check the interest, at least…if someone claims him, see what you get or pull him back. Any thoughts?
JTusk:
Sure. Why not? That may be part of the thinking. I still believe an AL team would love to have him.
I’d see if 1b is possible first, though.
If he stays with the Bucs, Pedro needs to go to the Instructional League & play 1B so he is prepared for 2015. If he balks, they have to trade him – that’s it.
It’s very hard to watch Pedro, but it’s also hard to watch Ike in the batter’s box. First base is a mess!
Pedro tear is coming….12 HR August. Heard it here first….guy can play in September. Have faith
Redus:
I would say Hurdle’s comments seem to indicate they are done with Pedro as a starting 3b option.
I need to to get a look at these comments…Harsh stuff huh?
Jim……..it appears CH has had it with Pedro for obvious reasons. Maybe the DL is the only alternative left for #24.
Could not disagree more with you, DK. The pitch to Goldschmidt was not high and tight–it was riding in above the belt and he moved his hands into it. There was no intent to hit him and even Goldschmidt said he had no problem with it.
I’m going to go back to the DL Idea. Its not unprecedented. Remember Joey Votto and the anxiety attacks where he needed to be taken out of ball games. (2009) I give you Pedro and his anxiety about tossing it 120 feet. DL. DL. DL. DL
He’s not injured.
anxiety is an injury. President set by Joey Votto
Hoenstly, can’t believe you’re giving the D-Bags a pass here. A 90+ MPH pitch square in the back–the SPINE–is appropriate for a mistake pitch? Come on, that’s bush league and dangerous to boot. Srsly, how would you feel if Cutch was in the hospital paralyzed over this?
Final comment. MLB needs to deal with this crap and fast before someone gets seriously hurt. They need to levy fines and suspensions against Delgado, Montero the catcher and Gibson. This has to stop. I am severlely disappointed in you over this, DK, I really am.
DK never said what the D-Backs did was ok. He merely said that Frieri sucks and should be outty. Nothing wrong with that.
No steelkings, I love DK as much as the next person, but he blamed the whole situation on Frieri, and that to me is implying that the D’s were justified in what they did. I don’t see any condemnation of what was a massively cowardly act.
Also, I totally disagree that you should continue to pitch inside with 1 out and a 5 run lead in the 9th. Especially to a teams ticket seller. Just stupid. AND IT WAS HIGH AND TIGHT. His hand was hit up around his nipples.
Sorry, high and tight implies head or chin area, and it wasn’t near there. What do you want him to do, throw a meatball down the middle and give up a HR to start a rally? You could just as easily blame the D’s for pinch-hitting Goldie in that situation in the first place.
No…I would want frieri to work on his weakness which is a breaking pitch low and away. Not the 95 MPH cutter that ran in on Goldys hands. JUST STUPID!
I agree and I said this last night, throwing at people is total chicken “S” in my opine. You have two people making a decision to potentially hurt someone yet have no direct role…its so weak. There is nothing I like about it….you wanna get even, win the stupid game
Didn’t I just see Watson get tossed for bouncing one off a Giant directly after McCutchen was plunked?
It was Wilson that did that, and that to me was just as stupid and dangerous as what happened last night. This ridiculous “code” crap needs to be eliminated from the game is the way I see it.
It was Wilson & the pitch hit the guy in his butt, not his upper back.
Marte was recently hit in the head, & has been hit in the hands many times in the past 2 yrs without incident.
I really think DK’s ire is misplaced-the blame goes to the coaches who thought it was a good idea to put Frieri out there & a bit should go to the FO who outsmarted themselves on this move. Think of the adage – guns don’t kill people-people do. Who put him on the mound?
Sorry, I fail to see why Frieri being put in was a problem. His biggest issue is serving up meatballs for HR’s (like last night) not with wildness. Neither he, nor any of the coaches, deserve one whit of criticism IMO, because he did nothing wrong. My ire is ALL for the D’s.
Since we are doing “you heard it here firsts”
Justin Morneau will be a Pirate by Mid August. Reds need to fall just a little furtar out of the race so they dont block the deal. Then it would be done.
He is having a good year and his home and road splits are surprisingly similar. But a couple of things. He’s having neck issues right now, so he’s not 100% healthy, and also, it’s hard to erase the memory of the near-total zero he put up when he was here last year.
I doubt they will pursue Morneau.
Jim, Its not about who they pursue. That was last week. Its who will become available. Cuddyer will return next year and command 1st base. Morneau can be had for 6 mil next year with a 750k buyout in 16. Perfect fit to bridge a gap.
Walkers bad back complicates matters more. Barmes must return to the club if Walker misses more than a few days.
Barmes’ injury will likely keep him out most of the remainder of the year, if not all of it.
I just read today, Karen, that Barmes could start rehab assignment this week, and could be back on the team in 7-10 days.
Jim – I read that right after I posted this (but there’s no “delete” button). Last I’d heard until now was that Barmes might not be seen for the rest of the season. His return would be a good thing under our dire circumstances.
I hadn’t heard anything before reading that this morning, Karen. I was thinking Sept.
correction: technically Walkie’s rant was not “post game”, it occured during the replacement pitcher warm-up, in 9th inning.
He just continued his rant through the postgame show. He was on fire last night!
Pirates signed Jason Nix, sent Morel to Indy, DFAed Dean Anna Nix will join the team this afternoon and probably start at 3rd
Who the hell is Jason Nix??????????
Somebody who’s better than Brett Morel! (Though that’s not saying much!
)
Nix doesn’t just mean nothing in German. It means the Pirates just signed jason Nix and his 445 OPS to play third!!!!
Morel to Indy.
So we have Nix at 3rd base…still…NADA…nix. This is becoming a circus.
Maybe I’m in the minority here but I’m not ready to give up on Pedro yet. This isn’t a team with a ton of power bats to spare. Start Harrison at 3rd and let Pedro hit when the right opp is there. Rest, breathe, get your head right. Take the pressure off for a while.
We have to give up at third, again my opinion, it is beyond insanity at this point. Unless the team just accepts it, then I guess…whatever. We don’t know what the mentality is in the clubhouse, they could all feel he’s best for team regardless and only us plebians are concerned
Agreed. And I don’t think moving to 1B midseason is an option. Bench him, pinch hit him, occasional start in best possible match-ups and hope for the best. Then explore other options in offseason. Way too much invested to give up right now.
Why is moving an athletic guy with quick reflexes and a great glove not an in-season option to be moved to the easiest position on the field? It’s really the only option they have to get his bat in the lineup down the stretch.
Why does everyone think its necessary to get a guy who hit 3 HR’s in June and 2 HR’s in july while averaging .238 over those two months bat back in the line up?
Because the guy who gets trotted out every day with not a lot of criticism hit 3 hrs and batted .203 in those same two months…
I don’t think you can judge a guy’s performance when his confidence is 100% gone. Hit the reset button and start rebuilding the confidence. Downside isn’t any worse than where you’re at now. Potential upside is hopefully your best power bat heating up in SEPT.
Good morning. NEED PERSPECTIVE more than COFFEE this AM.
1) Jhay is now the everday 3b with Nix signing.
2) Nix becomes the supersub, can play multiple positions in IF and OF.
3) Pedro to the bench and maybe soon a “CL” appearance.
4) Have to believe the end is near for Ern.
But please on the :
1) Release Ike
2) Demote Cholly to AAA
3) release or trade Pedro… my biggest Bob Walk-ian rant on NH….
… WHY WHY WHY no Bonifacio / Russell type move at the deadline? NO concern about no Price/Lester/Lackey, but OBVIOUS need at 3B 4 days ago and in bullpen… easy trades could and should’ve been made. NO EXCUSE, NADA, NONE. Marte/Cole are coming but no one was coming at 3b..
I would have taken a run at Prado – has the ability to play at corners in both if and of – did not cost the backs much…
Beanball:
-Frieri sucks but that doesn’t mean he can’t pitch inside. Worst logic I’ve ever seen DK proffer. EVER.
-Gibson loves throwing at players and knew that was coming.
-As Cutch said, retaliation is one thing but the way Delgado did it was chicken bleep.
-It’s now over.
It’s NOT over…
What? Over? Did you say “over”? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Pedro needs traded to the American League where he can DH and concentrate on just that. Forget fielding for now.
His head needs cleared out and he needs a change of scenery.
As far as the Cutch incident, you’re right DK, I disagree with your take on it. Frieri blows but he did nothing wrong unless you consider pitching inside wrong.
Sorry, but blaming Frieri for Cutch getting hit makes zero sense. The pitch was inside. Martin was set up inside. Every pitching coach in baseball will tell you if you miss, miss inside. Frieri is useless on this team but not at fault here.
Then blame Martin. up 5 with 1 out in the 9th is no time to be running the ball in on the Diamondbacks money maker.
I’m longing for the days if Vin Mazarro…Not sure why he’s not an option at this point?
That’s how low my expectations are of Frieri, pimental, and Gomez.
Sorry, I can’t blame Frieri. If he were good with good control and if he were some type of macho hot head, then I would. But he stinks and a pitch got away from him. And not even that badly, Goldy got hit on his hands. Accidents happen.
And I don’t mind the Dbacks wanting their pound of flesh per se, but they went about it all the wrong way. Kind of indicative of where they are as an organization, really. Just discombobulated and an overall mess.
Who moderates these comments?
Only your very first comment gets moderated. That’s it, Joe. I was driving to Latrobe, so I couldn’t clear until I arrived.
I figured you had a person or two doing the moderating DK. You’re busy enough. That’s why I asked about it.
Going to early dinner with daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter Mischa in a few. Hope the game is on at Friday’s! Go Bucs! Bean A Snake day….