We Can Rest at Ease

With Duke off to the first 6-0 start by a rookie starting pitcher in Pirates history, the last thing the left-hander wanted was to get hurt. But X-rays proved negative, and he is expected to miss only one start at the most.

Buccos Factoids

Zach Duke of the Pirates tied an all-time major-league record on Thursday night when he improved his career record to 6-0 with a victory over the Mets. All six of Duke's victories have followed Pirates' defeats. The only other pitcher in MLB history to win his first six decisions, all following a team loss, was Larry McWilliams for the 1978 Braves.

Jose Castillo of the Pirates was thrown out trying to reach third base after a double to end the second inning on Thursday night, and he did the same thing to end the fourth inning. The last player to be thrown out twice on doubles in the same game was Lou Piniella with the Royals in 1971. At least Sweet Lou didn't make the third out either time (though he did make the first out once).

Bucs Win, Duke 6-0

NEW YORK (AP) -- Twice Thursday night, Pittsburgh Pirates rookie left-hander Zach Duke faced showdown situations against New York Mets slugger Cliff Floyd with runners on base. Each time, Duke reared back and threw third-strike curveballs that measured all of 75 mph.

Those confrontations highlighted Duke's seven innings of two-hit ball as he won his sixth straight decision, beating the Mets 5-0.

The Mets didn't have many other chances against Duke, who retired the first 11 batters, did not give up a hit until Chris Woodward's double in the fifth and allowed four baserunners. He threw 103 pitches, 69 for strikes.

It was a continuation of an impressive success story for the 22-year-old, who was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on July 1 and has been Pittsburgh's best pitcher for two months. He made it look easy.

His six straight wins is the longest streak by a Pirates rookie since Don Robinson won seven straight decisions in 1978.

Duke (6-0) struck out five and walked one.

New York's first baserunner came with two outs in the fourth, when right fielder Nate McLouth dropped Carlos Beltran's routine fly ball. The mistake hardly disturbed Duke, who struck out Floyd, ending the inning.

By then, the Pirates had a 4-0 lead on two RBI doubles by Jose Castillo and a two-run homer by Brad Eldred against Victor Zambrano (6-10).

Beltran singled in the seventh for the Mets' other hit off Duke. Duke then struck out Floyd with another 75 mph curve. David Wright walked but Woodward hit into an inning-ending double play.

That finished Duke's night, which included his first major-league hit, a seventh-inning single.

After he was called up, Duke won three games and posted an 0.87 ERA in his first month in the majors and was named NL rookie pitcher of the month for July. Thursday night's win was his third in August and followed his first poor start, when he lasted just four innings and allowed four runs and eight hits at Houston.

Ryan Doumit singled with two outs in the second and scored on Castillo's double.

In the fourth, Zambrano hit Jason Bay with a pitch and Eldred followed with his fourth homer of the season, sending an 0-2 pitch an estimated 400 feet into the left field picnic area.

Doumit then doubled, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Castillo's second double. He was thrown out at third trying to stretch both doubles into triples.

In the eighth, Pittsburgh bunched singles by Bay, Rob Mackowiak and Doumit for another run.

AP Wire Report

Injury News Brightens

The Pirates' injury news brightened significantly yesterday.

Starter Oliver Perez, coming back from a broken left big toe, took the mound at Shea Stadium and fared well enough in a three-inning simulated game that he could begin a Class AAA assignment early next week.

Those developments, plus the return this week of reliever Mike Gonzalez, make for an uplifting confluence for the Pirates, who have gone long stretches without three of their top performers from 2004.

Post-Gazette.com

Bay NL Player of Week

An 11-hit, two-homer performance last week was good enough for Pittsburgh slugger Jason Bay to be named the Bank of America National League Player of the Week for the Aug. 8-14 period.

The Pirates outfielder received the award after batting .440 (11-for-25) with eight runs scored and eight more driven in, propelling the Pirates to back-to-back road series wins for the first time since they beat the Giants and Diamondbacks in mid-May.

For the rest of this story:
Pirates.com Website

Wilson Homers, Bucs Win 1-0

The Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Wilson's ninth-inning home run to right field off Houston Astros All-Star closer Brad Lidge (3-3) accounted for the only run of the game in the Bucs' 1-0 win before a packed house of 43,286.

Wilson, who also made an outstanding defensive play in the second inning to save a run, downplayed his clutch hit as nothing more than cheap long ball at a homer-friendly ballpark.

"I don't think I'd ever squared up a ball against [Lidge]," said Wilson, who took Lidge deep after falling behind in the count, 0-2. "The last was [pitch] just kind of a reaction, and then it was a Minute Maid home run."

And where did Wilson think his game-winning shot would have landed in spacious PNC Park?

"In the outfielder's glove camped 20 feet in front of the fence," said Wilson.

From: Pirates.com

McLouth Recalled

The Pirates recalled rookie outfielder Nate McLouth and placed Jody Gerut on the 15-day disabled list due to irritation of the patella tendon in his right knee. Gerut, acquired July 31 for Matt Lawton, played in four games with the Pirates.

McLouth arrived at Coors Field on Thursday for his second stint in the Majors. But he came without his glove, bat or any other equipment.

He had gotten the call early Thursday morning that he was recalled by the Pirates from Triple-A Indianapolis and flew from Louisville. However, all his stuff had already been shipped to Durham, N.C., where the Indians were playing next.

Rotation in Flux

As the Pirates embark on a 12-game road trip, their longest since June 1999, several questions surround the starting rotation, such as, who is pitching tomorrow?

It appears, as scheduled, Mark Redman will go Wednesday in Game 2 of the three-game series in Colorado. Redman has been bothered by a sore back and neck stiffness in his past two starts. He has lost eight of his past nine decisions and is 0-6 on the road in his last seven starts.

If Redman is not able to pitch, McClendon said he would likely move Josh Fogg up a day, as Fogg is scheduled to start in Thursday's series finale. Fogg said he had not heard anything about being moved up and expected Redman to take the mound.

As is the case with several starters on the staff, Fogg has struggled recently, giving up at least six runs in three of his last five starts.

Regardless of how Wednesday and Thursday shake out, rookie phenom Zach Duke will start Friday in Houston.

Kip Wells could return to the rotation Saturday after missing his scheduled outing Sunday with a cracked fingernail on the middle finger of his throwing hand. Wells threw Tuesday and said he felt fine.

McClendon said Wells pitched Tuesday to test his fingernail and if everything turns out OK, Wells will go Saturday after Duke. Saturday is the earliest Wells would start.

The problems the starters have had recently affect the Pirates beyond this season, as the team is figuring out what its future rotation might look like.

Source: pirates.com

Pirates Attendance Up.

Pittsburgh Pirates home attendance after 56 home dates this season is 1,350,652. That figure is 141,895 more than the 2004 home attendance after the same number of dates (1,208,757). This season, the Pirates are currently averaging 24,119 fans per game. In 2004, the Pirates averaged 21,107 per game.

This past weekend, the Pirates drew 101,757 fans for the three games against the Dodgers, the largest three-date series since August of 2001 and the seventh-largest three-date series in the five-year history of PNC Park. So far in 2005, the Pirates have drawn 14 crowds over 30,000 and have had eight sellouts. That is the most sellouts since PNC Park opened in 2001, when there were a total of 19 capacity crowds. With 24 home dates remaining on the 2005 schedule, the Pirates have already surpassed last year's 2004 total home attendance of 1,583,031. The Pirates have sold over 1,700,000 tickets so far this year and are on pace to finish near the 1,800,000 mark.

Source: Pittsburgh Pirates Release

Weekly vs 2004 for August 8th

The Pirates as of Monday the 8th are 112 games into the season:

47 - 65 = Current W-L at this point
53 - 59 = W -L at this point in 2004

Date that it took to reach 47 wins in 2004: July 26th

Pirates have slid back again and are 6 games off last year's pace, but they do get to play Colorado again this week.

What are They Smoking?

Seems like the leading cause of heart problems for Pirates fans might be back next year. Pirates Management MUST be hanging out at Manny's and breathing in those grill fumes a little too much. And yes I am a few days late in catching up on this and putting it up here. Thought I would hold onto it until Monday, it’s usually a bad day anyway even without news like this.

Friday, August 05, 2005
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Signs are pointing to Jose Mesa staying on as the Pirates' closer next year.

Mesa wants it to happen, and the team apparently does, too.

"No question about it, I would love to be here again," Mesa said yesterday in his first interview in nearly a month. "But that's up to them. If I'm here, I will be very happy again."

Mesa, 39, is in the final guaranteed year of a contract with a salary of $2 million. He has a 2006 team option worth $4 million. If the team declines the option, Mesa is owed a $500,000 buyout.

The Pirates have not fully determined their plan for Mesa, but management is leaning toward bringing him back for another year. The team is not likely to exercise the $4 million option, though, and could seek to negotiate a lower salary.

Wells to Miss Start

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Kip Wells was forced to skip his scheduled start Sunday because of a cracked fingernail on the middle finger of his throwing hand. Wells was replaced by rookie right-hander Ian Snell.

Wells was bothered by the nail problem during each of his previous two starts. The broken nail digs into the skin on the top of the finger, causing pain and bleeding. It also limits Wells' ability to properly grip his slider.


Source: MLB.com

Duke Wins Now 5-0

Saturday night the Pirates (47-64 6th NLC) won 9-4 over the Dodgers (49-61 3rd NLW) giving rookie pitcher Zach Duke his 5th win in a row to start his career. Duke while not as dominant as he had been in his 1st 4 wins was effective enough in limiting the Dodgers to four runs on 10 hits and two walks in 7 1/3 innings to earn his fifth consecutive win.

Jose Castillo's RBI single in the first inning off Dodgers starter Odalis Perez tied the game at 1. In the second, Freddy Sanchez hit a two-out single that would roll under the glove of Los Angeles shortstop Cesar Izturis, allowing Wilson to score from second base. Two batters later, a Jason Bay fly got by the Dodger left fielder Jason Repko for two runs putting the Bucs ahead, 4-1. Repko also misread a Sanchez fly ball that 4th giving him a triple and, a batter later, scored Pittsburgh's fifth run on a single by Chris Duffy.

Jack Wilson hit a solo home run in the 6th, and doubles in the 7th by Castillo and Brad Eldred staked Duke to an 8-3 lead.

Dodgers third baseman Olmedo Saenz accounted for three of the four Dodgers runs against Duke, hitting run scoring singles in the 1st and 5th and a solo-shot in the 8th.

Sky, Not the Game was a Blast.

In a reoccuring theme the Pirates (46-64 6th NLC) again lost 12-6 to the Dodgers, or just to anoy those from Los Angeles "LAD", in front of a huge home crowd as over 37,000 packed PNC Park for Sky-Blast.

The Dodgers (49-60 3rd NLW) went up 4-1 in the 3rd inning with aOlmendo Saenz 3-run HR, Jeff Kent had homered in the 2nd already. LA would get one more homer off of Fogg in the 6th from Ricky Ledee.

One bright spot to the game was Brad Eldred hit his first Major League home run in the second inning, a solo shot off Derek Lowe.

Bad Timing as Usual

It has been awhile since I just ranted about something so here we go:

Every year when we get to this point in the calendar people like to make a point of how the coverage or at least the front-pageness of the Pirates goes away with the opening of Steeler's camp. Many point to this shows that Pittsburgh is a bad baseball town that just puts up with baseball because we need something to do between the Super Bowl and the 1st week in August when St. Vincent's opens.

I tend to take another view on this, that is the Pirates tend to pick late July to early August as the time where the wheels really fall off, where they go from being kinda competitive but tending to lose more then win, to not all that competitive and winning here and there despite of themselves. So when you are a team that say loses 8 of 10 or 11, interest is bound to go down, specially this year with not just the Steelers going to camp but the whole return of the NHL and the Pens drafting Sidney.

All in all Pittsburgh is not a bad baseball town, and I think the crowds this year is a testament to that, the Pirates have drawn well and that’s not just due to the All Star Game. The ASG does not drive people to do walk-up buys this year, as we have seen large lines for many games that even the Pirate's did not expect big crowds for. And the crowds seem this year to be more "who is pitching or starting or are we playing" based then "cool bobble heads!" Now if the team could just put out a product that was remotely competitive all year long, not just for a spurt here or there over a 15-20 game streak. I am not talking about win the division, but at least middle of the pack would be nice.

Duke, Pitcher of the Month

Pirates left-hander Zach Duke has been voted the senior circuit's Rookie of the Month, beating out players such as Jeff Francoeur (.413, 6 HR, 16 RBI) of the Braves; Ryan Howard (.289, 5 HR, 19 RBI) of the Phillies; Marcos Carvajal (0-0, 1.38 ERA, 12 K) of the Rockies; Willy Taveras (.321, 13 R, 9 SB) of the Astros; and Brad Halsey (3-0, 2.20 ERA, 14 K) of the Diamondbacks.

Duke led all Major League starters with a 0.87 ERA during July, allowing 27 hits and four runs (three earned) in 31 innings pitched. He struck out 27 batters and walked only nine. Duke shut out opposing offenses over a stretch of 22 innings. It was the longest such streak by an NL rookie since Roy Oswalt tossed 24 straight scoreless frames in 2001.

Source: pirates.com

All Star Logo Unveiled

Prior to the Wednesday game against the San Diego Padres the Pirates unveiled the logo for the 2006 All Star Game that will be played at PNC Park next summer. The logo depicts a stylized view of downtown Pittsburgh from inside PNC Park.

Several former Pirates were on hand for the unveiling, who also signed autographs for fans. Fans in attending the game received static-cling versions of the logo from their seat ushers.

Day Brighter then Pirate's Performance

The Pirates(46-63 6th NLC) lost on a sunny and warm Thursday afternoon to the Pardres(53-55 1st NLW) 12-7 infront of 21,739 fans at PNC Park, starter Mark Redman was tagged for seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and a walk in 2 1/3 innings in what was his shortest outing of the season.

After breezing through the first inning, Redman gave up four runs in the second, three of which came on a Khalil Greene home run. An RBI single by Mark Loretta and a two-run double by Xavier Nady gave the Padres a 7-1 lead in the third inning.

The pitching woes overshadowed a second straight big game by the long-suffering Pittsburgh offense. Chris Duffy and Tike Redman sparked the top of the Pirates lineup with three hits apiece. Humberto Cota had a pair of doubles, and Rob Mackowiak chipped in two hits, including a three-run home run in the ninth inning, that unfortunately was too little too late for the Pirates to overcome the large, early lead put up by San Diego.

The Pirates hope to reverse their luck this weekend as Los Angeles is in town for a 3 game set that is sure to have large crowds with Sky-Blast Friday and Saturday nights.