Pirates Series/Thursday's game

[JohnBriggs12]

Despite drafting high year after year, the Pirates have whiffed on a lot of guys. McCutchen (05 no. 1) looks like a solid player and their 2008 pick, 3B Pedro Alvarez could be a player, as could their 09 pick, Tony Sanchez, a catcher. But most of the pitchers they selected high in the last decade were complete busts.

[RobDeer 45]

I do feel bad for teams that are always at the bottom. Maybe because I know what it felt like for years. I like cheering for the underdog (unless we are playing them). I feel bad for their fan base as well. They do have a beautiful park and they have had some talent in there but they always get rid of it. Hard to be excited about that type of team.

 

That being said they really fired me up last year so I'm glad we beat them down!

[sheethead]

But most of the pitchers they selected high in the last decade were complete busts.

 

With this I can relate.

[And That]

So... was pulling Prince, Ryan. and Casey the right call? I'm not sure about that one...

Yes. It would be silly to risk injury to one of those guys when you're up by a dozen-plus runs. Especially McGehee - with his chronic knee problem, get him out of the game whenever you can.

[PeaveyFury]

Aren't we in a stretch of 13-straight game days, too? Take the free rest any time you can get it in those stretches.

[Oldcity]

Perhaps the most amazing thing about yesterday's game was that Carlos Gomez drew two walks. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

I also thought Kottaras' massive home run was pretty shocking.

[markedman5]

Did you see when Gomez drew his walk the night before and he looked into the dugout on his way to first base and held up 1 finger as if to say......"thats one coach"? lol

 

It was pretty funny.

[Invader3K]

Yes, it was very nice to see Gomez draw three walks in two games; as I mentioned in the in game thread. Now he just has to keep it up.

[Nottso]

When the Crew was in the AL, the Pirates were my NL team. I really feel badly for them and their fans. I think they should hire Ned Yost. I'll always believe that Yost was a big part of our turnaround. Great at turning nothing into something, but unable to go that next step.

[joepepsi]

J J Hardy: 228/290/351

Mike Cameron: DL

 

Alcides Escobar: 300/352/480

Carlos Gomez: 262/311/452

[1992casey]

So... was pulling Prince, Ryan. and Casey the right call? I'm not sure about that one...

 

Definitely. Besides resting your starters and getting your bench players into the game, this is a situation where you try to avoid further embarrassing your opponent.

 

Of course, you still have to keep playing. If you don't, you're "disrespecting the game." But you can sit starters and avoid stuff like bunting and stolen bases. Quoth Jim Edmonds:

It was one of those crazy games. You never know what's going to happen when you step on the field.

 

You keep playing and keep respecting the situation. They were trying; we were trying. There's a fine line between respecting them, respecting the game and still playing the game. It's a tough scenario on both sides.

 

We weren't trying to embarrass anybody.

[zzzmanwitz]

J J Hardy: 228/290/351

Mike Cameron: DL

 

Alcides Escobar: 300/352/480

Carlos Gomez: 262/311/452

 

Plus about $10.8 Million in Salary.

[logan82]

Invader3K wrote:

The difference is that five years ago, you could start to feel that the Brewers were turning a corner. We had Fielder and Weeks coming up from the minors as heralded prospects. I'm not sure you can really say anything like that about the Pirates at this point. 2005, don't forget, the Brewers went 81-81. Heck, even in 2004, the team was somewhat in contention before fading down the stretch. This Pirates team is obviously a non-contender might struggle to win 70 games.

 

As far as the Pirates "fire sale", they do that every couple years. It's like they can't pick a crop of players and just stick with them. What is there to be a fan of there at this point? Zach Duke? They'll surely trade him in another season or two.

Ok seven years ago then. The point is that they are taking steps in the right direction and the Brewers were in a very similar situation in the not to distant past. They just changed GMs recently so of course they changed players. It really didn't make sense to hold onto expensive old players if they could get something for them since they weren't going to be competitive. It has only been since November 2007 that the new regime has been in control.

 

The bolded part just sounds so much like, "Ben Sheet's They'll surely trade him in another season or two."

[Sixtofan]

Just to go back to the original topic for a second. I had the good fortune of being at this game with my sons (10 and 5). Nice ballpark, friendly fans overall a good experience.

[gregmag]

I remember that '78 series Briggs was talking about -- the second game was the first Brewers game I ever attended. And I remember sitting in my dorm in Ann Arbor for the '92 massacre of the Blue Jays, fiddling with my radio dial to get the signal from Toronto.

 

The interesting thing about those two series were that they bookended what, until recently, was the Brewers' sole era of relevance.

 

1978, of course, was the beginning of a great run. The Brewers had hired Bamberger away from Baltimore, and thrashing that team, one of the powers in the division, announced their arrival in a big way. That was also Molitor's debut series.

 

1992 was the last year the Brewers made any noise until the (more or less) current team came together. Toronto was the division power that year, and as somebody mentioned, they had just flexed their muscles by getting Cone -- a move that seemed to take some air out of the Brewers. I remember cheering along with every hit (30 total, IIRC) and thinking about Cone, sitting in their dugout charting pitches for his first Toronto start the next day. It was euphoric. Then the Brewers predictably fell just short of the Jays for the division, and that winter the Jays signed away Molitor. That was it.

 

Honestly, those two events made more of an impression on me than all but a few events in Brewers history -- Cooper's hit to beat the Angels in the ALCS, the start in 1987, Braun's homer in Chicago to ice the wild card. Yesterday was an amazing game in its own right; we'll have to see how it ends up affecting team history.