Irrational despair
Man on the street, April 1:
"This is the season that the Pirates finally break .500"
Man on the street, April 6:
"This team is going to lose 100 games."
Everybody take a DEEEEEEP breath and say to yourself, "It's only 2 games."
We should have already known that this is not a very good team. That fact wouldn't be changed if the Pirates had won the first 2 games. I recognize that they do have a chance to be slightly better than recent Pirate editions, but that would be hitting the lucky side of the bell curve. The most likely scenario is another mid-70's win total season.
Thanks ESPN
ESPN's ticker has been running a blurb all day that reads as follows:
"3 Pirates minor leaguers suspended for failing drug tests last year"
There's a perfect example of using the truth to mislead. There is no mention of the dozens of other players on other teams that were suspended. Worse yet, 2 of the players were playing for other organizations when they failed the tests! So, thanks ESPN for kicking us when we are down.
On a side note, did anyone read Peter Gammons' preseason predictions? Naturally he predicts David Ortiz will win the AL MVP. But in hilarious fashion, he then predicted that Nomar Garciaparra will win the NL MVP. Come on Peter...it's OBVIOUS you root for the Red Sox, but don't be sooooo predictable. It reminds me of the guy in every roto league that resorts to selecting players that used to play for his favorite team after all the current players are taken.
My apologies...
...to Tike Redman. I had a friend from back home named Tyke, so I always want to spell your name with a Y instead of an I. My apologies.
Damn I need an editor.
More on Tyke Redman
Lloyd McClendon has come out and justified his placement of Redman in the 3-hole by claiming a computer simulation has determined that it's the ideal place for him. This is quite a surprise because I had no idea anybody in Pirate management knew how to use a computer. Smelling a rat, I made a few calls to my inside contacts and was able to obtain the source code for this program.
pirate_lineup_creator.exe
if YEAR > 1992, execute subroutine LOSTCAUSE
otherwise execute subroutine WEAREFAMILY
.
.
LOSTCAUSE
if C = Santiago
and
3B = Wigginton
and
1B = Ward
then might as well put Tyke Redman 3rd
else
bloggers have nothing to complain about
All kidding aside, I applaud McClendon for having the courage to try something unconventional. If you are out-gunned, as the Pirates are, you've got to find creative solutions. I doubly applaud McClendon for finding a way to try something unconventional while at the same time setting up a scape goat for when it goes horribly, horribly wrong.
Let's just hope we see Craig Wilson get some hacks tomorrow.
Lost Pirate: Pud Galvin
In honor of opening day, this week's lost Pirate is the franchise's original opening day starting pitcher,
Pud Galvin. Galvin opened the 1887 season for the then Alleghenys by beating the Chicago White Stockings of the NL 6-2.
Although the best years of Galvin's Hall of Fame career were spent with the Buffalo Bisons, he did spend 7 very productive year at the end of his career with the Alleghenys/Pirates. As far as I can recall, he is the only Hall of Fame pitcher to have spent a significant portion of his prime in Pittsburgh.
