Clint Hurdle’s Pirates wore their new alternate camouflage uniforms for the first time Thursday. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Sights, sounds and the scene at PNC Park …
• The temps flattened out in the low 40s, the clouds were charcoal gray, next to no one was watching at PNC Park, and it was a Thursday matinee in April.
Now size up that context with the following from Clint Hurdle, a man hardly known for hyperbole: “That was one of the best team wins we’ve had since I’ve been here, given what we were facing.”
No, not at all, of course. But it’s easy to excuse the manager for getting a bit caught up in the moment when his lineup card left out two-thirds of his outfield, Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte, he went with backup Chris Stewart behind the plate, his starter looked like he might not last five innings, and his bullpen had been getting blowtorched game after game after game.
So yeah, even in the dreariest of settings, there’s justified satisfaction in overcoming a 4-1 deficit on the strength of Sean Rodriguez and Andrew Lambo coming up big in the outfield, Stewart getting a single and calling a smart game, Jeff Locke exiting not with his head down but with a rally-killing double play, struggling Radhames Liz getting his first win since 2008, and hugely struggling Mark Melancon nailing down a 10-pitch save.
“We battled out there, and I liked it. I’m proud of these guys,” Hurdle said. “I’m proud of them all the time, but I really liked what I saw today.”
“It’s good to get the split,” Josh Harrison said of the 2-2 series with the Cubs. “We got down early in this one, but we didn’t give up. I liked it.”
The star spectator did, too.
“Really nice team win,” McCutchen said. “Lots of good stuff out there. It’s good for all of us.”
• Liz pitched two scoreless innings — one hit, two Ks — two days after getting tagged for a run and two hits. The difference this time, by all accounts, was that he wasn’t pitching on nine days’ rest, as he did Tuesday:
Arquimedes Caminero is getting the bulk of the attention, largely for his blazing fastball and for hitting a batter to protect McCutchen. And it’s all justified. He was outstanding again today, as a matter of fact.
But don’t sleep on Liz. His heat registers at 98 mph, and he can be a big part of this pen.
• Melancon remains the biggest part, at least for now, so everyone involved took a deep breath not only at his 1-2-3 save, not only at the two strikeouts, but also that his much-discussed velocity increased from 88 mph to 90 for at least one pitch.
Hey, the whole thing might have been a start toward recalibrating.
“It’s good to see. It’s good for him,” Hurdle said. “I’m not sure how much confidence he needs, but everybody could use some. For him to come in and be quick and effective and shut that game down … Sometimes you’ve just to believe in things that you’ve seen in the past and give another opportunity. That’s what we wanted to do with Mark.”
• I’ll have more on Caminero and Lambo in tonight’s Friday Insider, up a tick after midnight.
Have to hit the road now for Harrisburg, where I’ll spend the night on the way to New York for tomorrow’s Game 5 between the Penguins and Rangers.
Oh, and I almost forgot: Hurdle had all of the Pirates don Penguins sweaters for their flight tonight to Phoenix. It’s something the manager does for both of the other teams in town as a show of support.
Corey Hart looked delighted to find the No. 87 model hanging at his stall.
“This is awesome!” he said, pulling over the black-and-Pittsburgh-gold version. “Actually, I kind of wish we had these for the game today. They’re nice and warm.”
Liz seems like a calm and composed dude from his interviews. Glad to see the Buccos battle thru the past few days. Like the composition of the roster. Wish we had two more spots for Tony and Holdzkom. Let's take the series in the desert.
John Holdzkom last night:
——1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts———ERA now 4.76
Big John may not have anything to help Buccos right now
It may have hit midnight for Cinderella.
Casey
4-23-2015, 7:07 pm
Loved that Hurdle didn't hesitate to get Melancon back on the mound. That's important. They're either going to sink or swim with him so they might as well figure out sooner than later if he's alright or if they need to do something about him.
Unbelievable, DK. Last night I was thinking "I'll likely never get to a meet up with DK because I live in Harrisburg and there's no reason for him to come here." And now you are going there tomorrow...but I'm in South Carolina. Argh!!
Dejan- I was at the blustery game yesterday and got Manny Sanguillen to sign his hat that I've had since my uncle stole it off his head down on the field in the 1971 post season. It was delightful to hear him recall the day he realized after the game that his hat was missing. You were right, DK, he was very gracious about it. He signed it simply, "God bless, Manny Sanguillen".
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, born and bred Pittsburgher and professional sports writer since 1990, was named one of the nation's top four columnists by the Associated Press Sports Editors (2011) and National Headliners (2013).
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April 23, 2015
On the scene: Thursday matinee in April? No, more
21by Dejan Kovacevic • On the scene • Tags: Pirates
Clint Hurdle’s Pirates wore their new alternate camouflage uniforms for the first time Thursday. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Sights, sounds and the scene at PNC Park …
• The temps flattened out in the low 40s, the clouds were charcoal gray, next to no one was watching at PNC Park, and it was a Thursday matinee in April.
Now size up that context with the following from Clint Hurdle, a man hardly known for hyperbole: “That was one of the best team wins we’ve had since I’ve been here, given what we were facing.”
Yowza. So Pirates 5, Cubs 4 ranks right up there with the Blackout?
No, not at all, of course. But it’s easy to excuse the manager for getting a bit caught up in the moment when his lineup card left out two-thirds of his outfield, Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte, he went with backup Chris Stewart behind the plate, his starter looked like he might not last five innings, and his bullpen had been getting blowtorched game after game after game.
So yeah, even in the dreariest of settings, there’s justified satisfaction in overcoming a 4-1 deficit on the strength of Sean Rodriguez and Andrew Lambo coming up big in the outfield, Stewart getting a single and calling a smart game, Jeff Locke exiting not with his head down but with a rally-killing double play, struggling Radhames Liz getting his first win since 2008, and hugely struggling Mark Melancon nailing down a 10-pitch save.
“We battled out there, and I liked it. I’m proud of these guys,” Hurdle said. “I’m proud of them all the time, but I really liked what I saw today.”
“It’s good to get the split,” Josh Harrison said of the 2-2 series with the Cubs. “We got down early in this one, but we didn’t give up. I liked it.”
The star spectator did, too.
“Really nice team win,” McCutchen said. “Lots of good stuff out there. It’s good for all of us.”
• Liz pitched two scoreless innings — one hit, two Ks — two days after getting tagged for a run and two hits. The difference this time, by all accounts, was that he wasn’t pitching on nine days’ rest, as he did Tuesday:
Arquimedes Caminero is getting the bulk of the attention, largely for his blazing fastball and for hitting a batter to protect McCutchen. And it’s all justified. He was outstanding again today, as a matter of fact.
But don’t sleep on Liz. His heat registers at 98 mph, and he can be a big part of this pen.
• Melancon remains the biggest part, at least for now, so everyone involved took a deep breath not only at his 1-2-3 save, not only at the two strikeouts, but also that his much-discussed velocity increased from 88 mph to 90 for at least one pitch.
Hey, the whole thing might have been a start toward recalibrating.
Watch the 27th out and judge for yourself.
“It’s good to see. It’s good for him,” Hurdle said. “I’m not sure how much confidence he needs, but everybody could use some. For him to come in and be quick and effective and shut that game down … Sometimes you’ve just to believe in things that you’ve seen in the past and give another opportunity. That’s what we wanted to do with Mark.”
• I’ll have more on Caminero and Lambo in tonight’s Friday Insider, up a tick after midnight.
Have to hit the road now for Harrisburg, where I’ll spend the night on the way to New York for tomorrow’s Game 5 between the Penguins and Rangers.
Oh, and I almost forgot: Hurdle had all of the Pirates don Penguins sweaters for their flight tonight to Phoenix. It’s something the manager does for both of the other teams in town as a show of support.
Corey Hart looked delighted to find the No. 87 model hanging at his stall.
“This is awesome!” he said, pulling over the black-and-Pittsburgh-gold version. “Actually, I kind of wish we had these for the game today. They’re nice and warm.”
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