What a smooth, systematic and satisfying W that was Monday night at PNC Park, huh?
Oh, not the game you watched?
Well, bear with me here, because at the fork in the stadium’s tunnel where one goes left for the home clubhouse, right for the visitors, I chose the latter for the first time in a long time in search of a wholly different perspective for what at least feels like a rather tired tale.
“You’ll take any kind of win,” Mike Matheny was saying in the visiting manager’s office, looking like he might just bust out a cigar. “But that’s a good one.”
And so it was, from the opposite perspective.
Oh, we all know what it is from the home perspective by now.
The bullpen blew another one!
Well, sure, Jared Hughes blew this one. Gave up three runs. Which is one more than he’d given up in his previous 23 appearances. Crucify the guy.
Why does Hurdle always take his starters out too early?
Clint Hurdle pulled Francisco Liriano after Kolten Wong left off the St. Louis seventh with an infield single. Liriano had a zero up on the board, but he’d also labored with 36 balls among his 91 pitches. He wasn’t getting to the middle of the order, anyhow.
Why didn’t they do anything in the offseason?
OK, now we’re getting warm.
Nutting!
Yes, Bob Nutting! The bogeyman! The author of all defeats!
Look, there really are two sides to these things. Losses happen. And when they do, rumor has it, so do wins on the reverse ledger.
Let’s rewind this one to the first inning …
The Pirates came out swinging against John Lackey, and they had runners at the corners for 56-RBI man Neil Walker. Promising situation. No lack of talent at issue.
And when Walker laced a ball up the middle, you could almost feel the big inning begin to blossom … until it went right into the mitt of perfectly positioned shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who flipped to Wong, who made a fantastic pivot for the rally-killing double play.
I asked Matheny, who’d spoken openly during spring training about using more advanced positioning metrics based in part on the Pirates’ success with them in 2013, if that played a part: “Absolutely. Jose Oquendo has done a great job of lining up our infielders all season, and that’s something that paid off for us tonight.”
Right. Their outfielders were right on the mark for a couple of Harrison screamers, too. Both could have made a big difference.
I asked Lackey about this, too …
Matheny credited Lackey with smoothing out a path to seven innings and one run, calling him “a big-game pitcher, a guy who really settles us down.”
And with this, I digress back to the angry mob …
Yeah, well, the Cardinals went and got Lackey at the deadline because their front office cares! Where’s our big-game pitcher?
The Cardinals’ acquisition of Lackey was immensely unpopular, both in the clubhouse and with the fan base. They shipped out two beloved players, Allen Craig and Joe Kelly, to get him.
What’s more, the Cardinals’ front office is notoriously cheap. Yes, their $109 million payroll is about $25 million higher than the Pirates, even though the teams’ disparity in ticket revenues alone is roughly $70 million in St. Louis’ favor. The amount of money the Cardinals aren’t spending on an annual basis is actually astonishing.
Back to reality …
Matt Adams, who you might have heard a time or two hails from Slippery Rock, went crashing into a short railing on the right-field side chasing a foul ball. He and Wong collided, and Adams’ mouth was thrown into top railing, which mercifully was covered with padding.
Or, as he described it to me before getting the mouth cleaned up, “whatever that green stuff is out there. Didn’t feel too good.”
Roll your eyes at intangibles all you want, but Cardinals have had that “it” factor for so many years now it’s impossible to think it can’t be considered hard evidence at this stage. And this edition is no different, just chugging along near the top of the Central, even without Yadier Molina, even without Chris Carpenter.
All they do, as the rap goes, is win, win, win.
Here, listen to Adams on how that felt Monday …
Notice which team he said his team is targeting?
Funny thing is, not much else separates the Cardinals and Pirates. Honestly. This season, St. Louis is 8-6 against the Pirates. Big whoop. In the past 54 meetings, St. Louis has a 28-26 edge in wins and — get this — a 158-155 razor’s edge in run differential.
August 25, 2014
Column: Not the game you watched
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Pirates
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
What a smooth, systematic and satisfying W that was Monday night at PNC Park, huh?
Oh, not the game you watched?
Well, bear with me here, because at the fork in the stadium’s tunnel where one goes left for the home clubhouse, right for the visitors, I chose the latter for the first time in a long time in search of a wholly different perspective for what at least feels like a rather tired tale.
You know, the one that ends Cardinals 3, Pirates 2.
“You’ll take any kind of win,” Mike Matheny was saying in the visiting manager’s office, looking like he might just bust out a cigar. “But that’s a good one.”
And so it was, from the opposite perspective.
Oh, we all know what it is from the home perspective by now.
The bullpen blew another one!
Well, sure, Jared Hughes blew this one. Gave up three runs. Which is one more than he’d given up in his previous 23 appearances. Crucify the guy.
Why does Hurdle always take his starters out too early?
Clint Hurdle pulled Francisco Liriano after Kolten Wong left off the St. Louis seventh with an infield single. Liriano had a zero up on the board, but he’d also labored with 36 balls among his 91 pitches. He wasn’t getting to the middle of the order, anyhow.
Why didn’t they do anything in the offseason?
OK, now we’re getting warm.
Nutting!
Yes, Bob Nutting! The bogeyman! The author of all defeats!
Look, there really are two sides to these things. Losses happen. And when they do, rumor has it, so do wins on the reverse ledger.
Let’s rewind this one to the first inning …
The Pirates came out swinging against John Lackey, and they had runners at the corners for 56-RBI man Neil Walker. Promising situation. No lack of talent at issue.
And when Walker laced a ball up the middle, you could almost feel the big inning begin to blossom … until it went right into the mitt of perfectly positioned shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who flipped to Wong, who made a fantastic pivot for the rally-killing double play.
I asked Matheny, who’d spoken openly during spring training about using more advanced positioning metrics based in part on the Pirates’ success with them in 2013, if that played a part: “Absolutely. Jose Oquendo has done a great job of lining up our infielders all season, and that’s something that paid off for us tonight.”
Right. Their outfielders were right on the mark for a couple of Harrison screamers, too. Both could have made a big difference.
I asked Lackey about this, too …
Matheny credited Lackey with smoothing out a path to seven innings and one run, calling him “a big-game pitcher, a guy who really settles us down.”
And with this, I digress back to the angry mob …
Yeah, well, the Cardinals went and got Lackey at the deadline because their front office cares! Where’s our big-game pitcher?
The Cardinals’ acquisition of Lackey was immensely unpopular, both in the clubhouse and with the fan base. They shipped out two beloved players, Allen Craig and Joe Kelly, to get him.
What’s more, the Cardinals’ front office is notoriously cheap. Yes, their $109 million payroll is about $25 million higher than the Pirates, even though the teams’ disparity in ticket revenues alone is roughly $70 million in St. Louis’ favor. The amount of money the Cardinals aren’t spending on an annual basis is actually astonishing.
Back to reality …
Matt Adams, who you might have heard a time or two hails from Slippery Rock, went crashing into a short railing on the right-field side chasing a foul ball. He and Wong collided, and Adams’ mouth was thrown into top railing, which mercifully was covered with padding.
Or, as he described it to me before getting the mouth cleaned up, “whatever that green stuff is out there. Didn’t feel too good.”
Roll your eyes at intangibles all you want, but Cardinals have had that “it” factor for so many years now it’s impossible to think it can’t be considered hard evidence at this stage. And this edition is no different, just chugging along near the top of the Central, even without Yadier Molina, even without Chris Carpenter.
All they do, as the rap goes, is win, win, win.
Here, listen to Adams on how that felt Monday …
Notice which team he said his team is targeting?
Funny thing is, not much else separates the Cardinals and Pirates. Honestly. This season, St. Louis is 8-6 against the Pirates. Big whoop. In the past 54 meetings, St. Louis has a 28-26 edge in wins and — get this — a 158-155 razor’s edge in run differential.
So why doesn’t it feel that way?
Presumably for either side?
Share this: