A Note To My Many Irate Pirate Fan Readers

I evidently hit a nerve when I needled the Pirates for firing Joe Kerrigan and Gary Varsho from the coaching staff. Anyone who questions the passion of Pirate fans should take a look at my comments and also my e mail in box.

Pirate passion is alive and well, even if their team isn’t.

Let me say this, my Pirate fan readers, and be as clear as I can be.

I LIKE THE PIRATES.

Besides the Red Sox (my childhood team) and the Giants (my dad’s team) the Pirates are the team I would want to see win the World Series most of all.

I have written about why I like the Pirates… from my memories of the 1979 World Series and their great history.

And I’ve also said that an argument can be made that current Pirate fans are the best and most loyal in baseball, as they have a franchise that has given them NOTHING back in nearly 2 decades.

But I also am tired of the excuses.

Yeah they don’t have deep pockets and they’ve had to shed payroll. And yes, Dave Littlefield was possibly the worst General Manager in baseball history as he traded big leaguer after big leaguer for pennies on the dollar and constantly drafted players based on cost rather than getting the best player into their system.

But guess what? Littlefield has been gone since the end of the 2007 season.

At one point you’ve got to stop blaming the previous administration and demand some results from Neal Huntington.

Yeah, he is doing better than Littlefield in that he has drafted players like Alvarez and McCutchen. Plus taking a chance on Lastings Milledge could pay off. And Ross Ohlendorf has had some nice games.

But he is also the General Manager for the team that as of this writing is the WORST TEAM IN BASEBALL. And the bounty for trades like Jason Bay, Nate McClouth and Freddy Sanchez are still all in the “potential” category a year or more after they were dealt.

And while each of those players have dealt with slumps and injuries since leaving the Pirates, they were PRIME TRADE CHIPS when they were sent on their way.

Who did they get in exchange for them?

Andy LaRoche is a spot starter at first base and hasn't been able to put up any numbers of note.

Charlie Morton... who has been a bust and will be 27 next year, or around the time a player ceases to be a prospect.

Craig Hansen was as much a bust in Pittsburgh as he was in Boston. His career is in danger as injuries has pushed him all the way down to the Florida State League.

Brandon Moss has had a decent year in AAA but at age 26, he is

Bryan Morris has been adequate at AA. He'll be 24 next year and needs to make the jump to AAA.

Jeff Locke has looked good in single A. Forgive me if I don't get excited about him until he sees a big league game.

Gorkys Hernandez is OK... at AA.

Tim Alderson has been a disaster in A and AA with a combined ERA over 6.00.

Why are small market teams like the A’s, the Padres, and the Rays able to get players who can contribute on the big league level when they deal off a player but this ability constantly eludes the Pirates?

Why are teams like Marlins able to consistently put a team above .500 on the team with a smaller payroll and a worse stadium situation?

I am not going to praise GM simply for being better than Littlefield, especially since that assessment is only made on reputation. GMs presiding over the team bound to get the first pick in the amateur draft shouldn’t have adulation showered on them. They should be wondering if they have a job next year.

As for the criticism of Kerrigan and Varsho being canned, I will take a little step back from my original criticism… but not THAT much.

I remember Kerrigan being Dan Duquette’s pick to replace Jimy Williams in 2001 and Derek Lowe saying something like “Now the whole team will see what a prick he is.” Then again, as much as I love Lowe, he seemed to have issues.

And evidently Gary Varsho wasn’t a popular guy in the clubhouse. But when you are the worst team in the game, are you really allowed to be picky on your coaches.

That being said, it seems like they were also undermining manager John Russell and the dumping of these two is a commitment to Russell as manager.

Alrighty… better get some results.

If the Pirates put a winning team on the field, I will be the FIRST person to praise them. The Pirates should be one of the proud franchises and Pittsburgh fans, who had a lot to cheer for recently with the Steelers and Penguins’ titles, should be loving the Pirates.

It’s going to be 18 years this year and it will probably be 19 years in 2011 since Sid Bream slid across homeplate.

Now things could be changing, especially next spring when they will have a top 3 pick in the Draft and maybe get the ace the pitching staff so desperately needs.

But once again, it all is potential.

As someone who likes the Pirates, I am tired of potential. I want to see results too.

There are other bad teams that I don’t care about.
The Diamondbacks can keep losing for all I care.
I have no love lost for the Orioles… or the Royals… or the Nats… or the Mets.

If those teams turn it around, fine. I can be intrigued by a comeback story.
But they don’t intrigue me.

The Pirates do.

Now I know it can suck to hear someone outside your fan base saying this and it isn’t anything you’ve haven’t thought yourself.

But I WANT a higher number in the Pirates W column… starting tonight against San Diego.

Now send your hate e mail to info@sullybaseball.com

So THAT'S why the Pirates picked Bryan Bullington first overall!

When I wrote my 30 Can't Miss Aces Who Missed post, I had a hard decision: Which former #1 overall pick by the Pirates should I dog pile on?

Kris Benson or Bryan Bullington?

Despite Benson's mediocre career, I decided to go with Bullington.
Benson never was an ace.
Bullington never won a game.

In 19 games, spread out over 5 seasons and 4 organizations, he went 0-7 with a 5.02 ERA.

Maybe it took him 20 games to figure it out, because today he got into the win column... and it was no cheap task.

He pitched 8 shutout innings against the World Champion Yankees and looked every inch an ace doing it.

Of course he did it for the Royals. The Pirates got exactly nothing for their investment. And yes, it would have been wiser to draft Prince Fielder, Zack Greinke, Joe Saunders, Cole Hamels, Matt Cain, Joe Blanton, Jeff Francis, Joey Votto, Jon Lester, Brian McCann or Curtis Granderson indtead of Bullington.

But I can't help but feel good for him. Maybe he HAS figured it out. Maybe the Royals stumbled across a solid pitcher who got his groove back.

Granted, he's 29... not "spring chicken" time for a budding pitcher. But hey!
Warren Spahn won 277 games after he turned 30!

I'm just saying.

How did I miss Throw Back day in San Diego?

Seriously... how did an evening of wearing some of the most notorious uniforms of the 1970s slip under my radar?

The Padres decided to either honor the 1978 season (the ONLY winning season in San Diego before the 1984 pennant) or pay tribute to the late Gary Coleman with the uniforms worn in The Kid From Left Field.


The 1978 Padres, who also hosted the All Star Game, were still going all out yellow and brown... Taco Bell uniforms... which I find ironic because they were owned by McDonald's czar.

And I believe it was the only year they had the small "SAN DIEGO" over the Padres name.

I remember that made an impression on me as a kid as they had the only big league uniform that I could remember that said the whole name on the front.

Not just "SAN DIEGO" or "PADRES." I bet an early version said "THE SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL CLUB OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE."

I like how the Padres also broke out the correct batting helmets. (Would it have killed the Pirates to have them wear their correct yellow batting helmets with their late 1970s garb?)


















The Padres could have taken the 1978 tribute even further.

They decided to go with the white pants with the brown and yellow top, which was primarily accurate. However, as the image on the right with Dave Winfield shows, sometimes they went yellow bottoms with the brown and yellow top, making the horror complete.

I am not surprised by the Padres decisions to wear white pants. Heck, they wear white pants with their camouflage get up.


The Pirates, being good sports like they were in Oakland for THEIR turn back the clock night, decided to not wear their yellow uniforms. (I guess they would clash and you can't have THAT in a turn back the clock night!)

So out came the thick pinstripes.


In fact the yellow hats, the pinstripe shirts and the black pants made for such a mixed and matched combination that it basically SCREAMED "Hey, it's laundry day. They were the only things clean."

But alas, they brought back instant nostalgia for the 1979 Pirates, which is always a good thing... even if the current team doesn't quite play as gracefully as the We Are Family squad.

So keep it up, folks! Keep turning back the clock... and make sure the Pirates are always involved. It helps their image!

Check out Zach Duke. He is positively Candelaria-esque!

The scheduling Gods are smiling on the A's

Since being in first place by themselves on May 31st, the A's went into an awful tailspin.

They went 6-16, going from 4 games over .500 and on top of the division... to 6 games under .500 and 10 1/2 games back.

That is an ugly turn of events... the kind that gets managers fired.

What could possibly turn things around?

A wonderful back to back series that would have been tough in 1979 but is "Win Column Padding" since the mid 1990s.

3 with the Pirates... 3 with the Orioles.
Now the A's have won 4 in a row and are 2 wins against the Orioles away from being back to .500.

It's nice to catch two once proud franchises in "Who the hell cares?" mode.

Get back in the race, A's... these are the "Gimmes!"

The A's telecast last night was DY-NO-MITE!

I am guessing most of you didn't catch the A's - Pirates game last night. It's a shame, because while the game itself wasn't exactly suspenseful, the look and feel of the game was, let's face it, OUT OF SIGHT!


It was turn back the clock to the 1970s night in Oakland. And the Pirates and the A's both would love turn it back to that decade when (and brace yourself young fans, this is going to sound strange) BOTH teams were powerhouses and won multiple division titles and World Series Championships.

(Sounds strange now, doesn't it?)


The A's were decked out in their classic yellow bottoms and yellow tops from the 70s glory days.

Personally I preferred the green tops to the yellow tops but it doesn't matter.

They LOOKED like champs again!


And like it was in the 1970s, the manager and coaches wore the white hats.

Bob Geren might not be a Hall of Fame manager, but for at least a day he LOOKED like Dick Williams!

(Would it have KILLED Bob Geren to wear the correct warm up jacket?)

But the A's looked awesome. How about the other team?



Cue up Sister Sledge! The Pirates looked like the Family again!

Black tops... black bottoms... the flat top yellow hat.

Personally I prefer the black hats, but either way, they looked like Champs from the 1979 World Series... a personal obsession of mine.

There are not a lot of Stargell Stars on their hats, but if you've seen the Bucs play this year, not a lot have been earned!

The game itself was cool, but the Comcat Sportsnet broadcast for the A's made it even cooler.

They did not use any graphics that weren't around in the 1970s.

So in came the bright yellow chyron font. The score wasn't permanently in the corner, but flashed on the screen from time to time.



The information when the batters were up was also "Just the facts."

Name, what they did tonight.

No breaking down of how they hit against left handers or their OPS.

(The Yellow font against the yellow jersey was a bit rough.)


Also the count and the number of outs were not always on the screen but would pop up between some pitches.

I'm not saying it is better like this... but it gave everything a nice nostalgic feel.

And speaking of nostalgia...


The announcers for Comcast Sportsnet busted out the yello blazers and the logo on the breast pocket.

And kudos to A's broadcaster Glen Kuiper for the fake 1970s 'stache to make the outfit complete.

Color commentator (and former 1970s A's star) Ray Fosse didn't need a fake 1970s stache. He has the real McCoy!

(Nice touch for the engineer to be all hippied out as well. Chances are that's how the 1970s looked in the East Bay!)


So nice work A's and Pirates and nice "above and beyond the call" for Comcast Sports Net.

Two teams that might be going nowhere this year did something cool, funny and fan friendly (as a lot of people in the stands were dressed a la 70s.)

The Pirates don't come through Oakland each year, so a nostalgic look back to the 1970s isn't an annual tradition for these two teams.

Another fun wrinkle for Interleague Play.
Another thing to keep in mind when you hear people trash interleague play.

I say those people are talking jive!

Jamie Moyer deserved better

What the hell happened to the Phillies? Aren't they supposed to be the NL answer to the Yankees and Red Sox juggernaut?

Aren't they supposed to be a dynasty in the making?

Don't the know they have Jamie Moyer pitching tonight, sitting on 267 wins... a mere 33 wins from a trip to Cooperstown?

He pitched well... 6 innings, 1 earned run, 8 strikeouts versus the lowly Pirates.

But the mighty Phillies managed NO runs off of Ross Ohlendorf! Going into tonight's game he was tied with ME for wins.

Come on Phils!
You've got an unlikely uniform to retire and Hall of Fame ticket to punch. Let's get on the ball. You can't blame EVERYTHING on Chase Utley's injury!

Hey Media! Stick around Washington... there's ANOTHER pitcher making debut!

Seriously, as long as you reporters and TV crews and columnists are in Washington covering Strasburg's jaw dropping debut, why not stick around and see if former Pirates first round pick Brad Lincoln make HIS big league debut!

It's actually a nice story. The former Conference USA player of the year was drafted #4 overall by the Pirates in 2006... and as I wrote in a previous post, the Pirates recent history with the draft hasn't been bad, it's been inexcusable.

Brad Lincoln looked like one of those miserable draft picks after signing for $2.75 million. He was the only player in the top 8 selections to have not made their big league debut up until this point.

Oh yeah, pick #10 who was passed over by Pittsburgh? Tim Lincecum.

Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Daniel Bard, Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain were all available.

As was Kyle Drabek, the son of former Pirates star Doug Drabek who started Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS... the last moment the Pirates were a relevant ball club.

(This goes to my theory that the Pirates rebuilding since 1992 is so ineffective that they should have just put their star players out to stud.)

Lincoln joined the Pirates and developed oblique problems, arm problems, had Tommy John surgery, missed the 2007 season and looked like yet another bust.

While Lincecum was winning his first of two Cy Young awards in 2008, Lincoln was putting together a 6-10 season in A Ball.

But things turned around for Lincoln in 2009 when he finally made it to AAA Indianapolis. And this year, with a 6-2 record, he is making it to the show... just a day after Stephen Strasburg did it.

At age 25, he's not as young as Strasburg and doesn't have Strasburg's dynamic stuff. It may have taken him 4 1/2 more years and 50 more minor league starts than Strasburg to make it to the show.

But stick around and watch him. He's earned his way up and who knows? He might surprise you with HIS debut!

Yeah Pirates... the problem was Joe and Gary

The Pirates have 52 games left and if they lose 11 of them, they will clinch their 18th straight losing season... a pretty safe bet I would say.

Well finally the Pirates are saying "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" and diagnosed the problem as being pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and bench coach Gary Varsho. So they were fired.

A couple of baseball lifers (who each served as an interim manager in the big leagues) are shown the door... and not a minute too soon.

Clearly THEY were what was keeping the Pirates down. They are one Orioles winning streak from being the worst team in baseball, but with all the talent on this roster, it is clearly the COACHING staff's fault.

I mean with such pitching studs as Charlie Morton, Brad Lincoln and Brian Burres in the staff, they should be shutting down opponents left and right. It's kind of like looking at the Braves staff in the early 1990s... so much talent that it isn't even fair.

And they have veterans to give the team some stability. Heck they just brought in Chan Ho Park. He's always good.

Meanwhile the line up... wow! When you have Ronny Cedeno, Andy LaRoche and Jeff Clement coming up to bat, who can you pitch around?

Clearly the talent is there... and the front office has done all they can to make the team better. Last year I pointed out all of their recent first round pick disasters... and GM Neal Huntington has managed to trade the likes of Jason Pay, Nate McLouth, Adam LaRoche and Freddy Sanchez and get virtually nothing in return...

And the Pirates non tendered Matt Capps, who went on to be an All Star for the Nationals and netted a great catching prospect in Wilson Ramos for Washington while the Pirates go exactly gotch.

But those are flukes. It's obvious the talent is there and the GM has done THEIR job.

So let's shake up the coaching staff!

No doubt this will help lead the Pirates to the promise land.
(But not to .500... let's not go crazy here.)