Post by joshsbix on Nov 23, 2023 9:08:49 GMT -5
For a team mired in the basement, the season is flying by! It is surprising that it is the end of May already. The Pirates and Reds are locked in a battle for bottom of the league. The Pirates had an early two game lead but we know what happens to early leads around here. Prior to the last sim the Pirates used some of the their 2009 draft capital to acquire a couple of young players. OF Sin Soo Choo made a quiet debut as he got accustomed to his new threads, making several unsuccess PH attempts. He is expected to be inserted into the starting lineup for the next sim. JP Howell remains in AAA awaiting a talent bump to his average walk rating, but is expected to be ready soon.
The Pirates did get half of their win total in one sim so we have that going for us, let's see how the sim went.
5/10
After the narrow 5-3 defeat to the Dbacks the last time out, the Pirates jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd and Dreifort pitched 6 strong innings only allowing 1 ER and the defense gave up another. Wilson, Mattes, and Lawrence all got bombed out of the bullpen. Help is on the way for a terrible bullpen but like reinforcements at the Alamo, we just aren't sure when they will arrive. It isn't likely to be this season, unless Howell gets something nice from Commish Clause, 2009 is more likely. Pirates drop the first game of the series 9-3 and Wilson picks up the L out of the pen.
5/11
Arizona completes the sweep. The Pirates one again score in the first and lead 1-0 but the Dbacks score 2 runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th innings. The Pirates added one in the 6th but it was trash time offense as the Diamondbacks cruise to an easy 6-2 lead. Brian Anderson picked up the loss and justifiably so after giving up 6 ER over 4 innings. Joe Price said after the game, "Our starters need to give us more innings, the bullpen is tired and it is only May." Nieves extended his hitting streak in this game. Pirates drop to 0-2
on the sim.
5/12
Mercifully a day off from the baseball gods. It is 8:30 AM and the bullpen is still sleeping.
5/13
In a key early season series in the race to the bottom, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh face off for a 3 game series. Game 1 featured the most consistent Pirate starter during the 2008 season so far, Bryan Hepson. He didn't disappoint as he is trying to earn a trade to a contender. Hebson picked up his 3rd win of the season and improves to 3-4. He threw the complete game shutout allowing 7 runs over 9 while striking out 6 and walking 2. The Pirates got the job done offensively, highlighted by Darren Erstad's first HR of the season as they cruise to a 6-0 win to get their first win of the sim. 1-2. Nieves went 2-4 and increased his BA to .345. Adams continues to hit over .300, it would be nice to see some more activity from him on the basepaths.
5/14
The story of game 2 was, could Dontrelle Willis get his first win of the season? He hasn't pitched very giving up 28 runs in his first 7 starts of the maturing season. Game 2 ended up being a pitching duel between two very bad teams. Dontrelle Willis went 6 strong innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits. The bullpen, after getting some good rest during the off day sent CJ Wilson and Oscar Villareal to lock down the game and they didn't let us down. Pirates win 2-1 and officially have a 2 game winning streak going. meanwhile, losing 2 games in the Draft Lotto Odds Race. Pirates are .500 for the sim at 2-2
5/15
The Reds seem a lot like the current Pirates. Down two games to zero, the Reds came out fighting in game three, to avoid the sweep. They scored 6 in the 2nd and added 2 more in the 3rd to take an 8-1 lead into the 8th. The Pirates mounted a furious rally in the 8th powered by a Tejada 3 run blast, but it fell just short as the Reds take game 3 8-6. Nieves failed to pick up a hit in this one and his average falls to .329. Pirates drop to 2-3 on the sim.
5/16
After a successful 2-1 series against the Reds in Pittsburgh, the Pirates were flying high until they reached SF. It wasn't pretty. Dreifort game up 3 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd and the Giants cruise to an easy 7-3 win. The Pirates scored 3 in the 6th but it wasn't nearly enough. Erstad picks up SB #16 and Nieves fails to get a hit and his average is coming back to Earth at .318. Pirates drop to 2-4 on the sim.
5/17
Brian Anderson got the call in game two to try to right the Pirate's course. The Pirates grabbed the lead in the 2nd with a Hietpas solo shot. They added 2 more in the 6th and SF's 8th inning rally scored a run but fell flat. The Pirates win 3-1 as they got out hit 6-4. Pirates force a rubber match and improve to 3-4 on the sim.
It was actually one of our better sims of the year. We didn't double our win total but we did increase our win total by 50%. It looks like it is going to be a fight for mediocrity between Pittsburgh and Cincy all year but Tampa and Minnesota are trying to get in on the argument. NY has some trades to make before they can truly reach this level of terribleness.
1. Reds 9 wins
1. Pirates 9 wins (2-1 head to head record against Reds)
3. TB 10 wins 1 GB
4. Min 11 wins 2 GB
4. SD 11 wins 2 GB
6. NY (A) 13 wins 4 GB
Let's Go Bucs!
The Pirates did get half of their win total in one sim so we have that going for us, let's see how the sim went.
5/10
After the narrow 5-3 defeat to the Dbacks the last time out, the Pirates jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd and Dreifort pitched 6 strong innings only allowing 1 ER and the defense gave up another. Wilson, Mattes, and Lawrence all got bombed out of the bullpen. Help is on the way for a terrible bullpen but like reinforcements at the Alamo, we just aren't sure when they will arrive. It isn't likely to be this season, unless Howell gets something nice from Commish Clause, 2009 is more likely. Pirates drop the first game of the series 9-3 and Wilson picks up the L out of the pen.
5/11
Arizona completes the sweep. The Pirates one again score in the first and lead 1-0 but the Dbacks score 2 runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th innings. The Pirates added one in the 6th but it was trash time offense as the Diamondbacks cruise to an easy 6-2 lead. Brian Anderson picked up the loss and justifiably so after giving up 6 ER over 4 innings. Joe Price said after the game, "Our starters need to give us more innings, the bullpen is tired and it is only May." Nieves extended his hitting streak in this game. Pirates drop to 0-2
on the sim.
5/12
Mercifully a day off from the baseball gods. It is 8:30 AM and the bullpen is still sleeping.
5/13
In a key early season series in the race to the bottom, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh face off for a 3 game series. Game 1 featured the most consistent Pirate starter during the 2008 season so far, Bryan Hepson. He didn't disappoint as he is trying to earn a trade to a contender. Hebson picked up his 3rd win of the season and improves to 3-4. He threw the complete game shutout allowing 7 runs over 9 while striking out 6 and walking 2. The Pirates got the job done offensively, highlighted by Darren Erstad's first HR of the season as they cruise to a 6-0 win to get their first win of the sim. 1-2. Nieves went 2-4 and increased his BA to .345. Adams continues to hit over .300, it would be nice to see some more activity from him on the basepaths.
5/14
The story of game 2 was, could Dontrelle Willis get his first win of the season? He hasn't pitched very giving up 28 runs in his first 7 starts of the maturing season. Game 2 ended up being a pitching duel between two very bad teams. Dontrelle Willis went 6 strong innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits. The bullpen, after getting some good rest during the off day sent CJ Wilson and Oscar Villareal to lock down the game and they didn't let us down. Pirates win 2-1 and officially have a 2 game winning streak going. meanwhile, losing 2 games in the Draft Lotto Odds Race. Pirates are .500 for the sim at 2-2
5/15
The Reds seem a lot like the current Pirates. Down two games to zero, the Reds came out fighting in game three, to avoid the sweep. They scored 6 in the 2nd and added 2 more in the 3rd to take an 8-1 lead into the 8th. The Pirates mounted a furious rally in the 8th powered by a Tejada 3 run blast, but it fell just short as the Reds take game 3 8-6. Nieves failed to pick up a hit in this one and his average falls to .329. Pirates drop to 2-3 on the sim.
5/16
After a successful 2-1 series against the Reds in Pittsburgh, the Pirates were flying high until they reached SF. It wasn't pretty. Dreifort game up 3 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd and the Giants cruise to an easy 7-3 win. The Pirates scored 3 in the 6th but it wasn't nearly enough. Erstad picks up SB #16 and Nieves fails to get a hit and his average is coming back to Earth at .318. Pirates drop to 2-4 on the sim.
5/17
Brian Anderson got the call in game two to try to right the Pirate's course. The Pirates grabbed the lead in the 2nd with a Hietpas solo shot. They added 2 more in the 6th and SF's 8th inning rally scored a run but fell flat. The Pirates win 3-1 as they got out hit 6-4. Pirates force a rubber match and improve to 3-4 on the sim.
It was actually one of our better sims of the year. We didn't double our win total but we did increase our win total by 50%. It looks like it is going to be a fight for mediocrity between Pittsburgh and Cincy all year but Tampa and Minnesota are trying to get in on the argument. NY has some trades to make before they can truly reach this level of terribleness.
1. Reds 9 wins
1. Pirates 9 wins (2-1 head to head record against Reds)
3. TB 10 wins 1 GB
4. Min 11 wins 2 GB
4. SD 11 wins 2 GB
6. NY (A) 13 wins 4 GB
Let's Go Bucs!
