CC Sabathia was selected today finally for David Price. He wouldn't be pitching since he pitched today, and so, he chose not to go. Just like his other teammates, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Mariano Rivera who also are not going. David Robertson, the setup man to Rivera, is going to Phoenix instead. It will be his first All Star game.
Holy Shit!!!! I do believe the end of days is actually upon us! At the All-Star break....my Pittsburgh Pirates are 4 games over .500, 1 game out of 1st place (if they could have scored some runs against Washington in some of those losses....they'd be in 1st)...AND they actually have 3 guys going to the All-Star game (Hanrahan, McCutchen, and Correia)! They have a manager that actually has a pulse (Hurdle.....vs. the ZOMBIE they had before that). Some of the decisions they have made since they have had the new management team in place (in fairness....McClatchy and his boys fucked things up soooooo bad that it took some time to get things even remotely corrected) are FINALLY coming to fruition. They are playing before sellout crowds at PNC Park. They actually have some of their better offensive players on the DL right now (Alvarez, Doumit, Tabita, Snyder...note their two starting catchers) AND still they are 4 games over. Their pitching has been ROCK SOLID! Fuck, if my Pirates aren't the feel good story of the 1st half at least....I don't know what is!
Yes my friends, there is a team that plays baseball at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers where the Ohio River is formed.....and their name is the Pittsburgh Pirates....and hey, at least this year anyway....they're not half bad!
Holy Shit!!!! I do believe the end of days is actually upon us! At the All-Star break....my Pittsburgh Pirates are 4 games over .500, 1 game out of 1st place (if they could have scored some runs against Washington in some of those losses....they'd be in 1st)...AND they actually have 3 guys going to the All-Star game (Hanrahan, McCutchen, and Correia)! They have a manager that actually has a pulse (Hurdle.....vs. the ZOMBIE they had before that). Some of the decisions they have made since they have had the new management team in place (in fairness....McClatchy and his boys fucked things up soooooo bad that it took some time to get things even remotely corrected) are FINALLY coming to fruition. They are playing before sellout crowds at PNC Park. They actually have some of their better offensive players on the DL right now (Alvarez, Doumit, Tabita, Snyder...note their two starting catchers) AND still they are 4 games over. Their pitching has been ROCK SOLID! Fuck, if my Pirates aren't the feel good story of the 1st half at least....I don't know what is!
Yes my friends, there is a team that plays baseball at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers where the Ohio River is formed.....and their name is the Pittsburgh Pirates....and hey, at least this year anyway....they're not half bad!
That's exactly right. When the new management team came in....the Pirates' farm system was TOTALLY devoid of major league caliber talent basically. This is basically their 6-8th rebuilding effort following the NL East Title in '92....and it would appear that, at least as of right now anyway....they did it the right way. Too often in the past, they would bring in a few overpriced and undertalented bums as free agents and wondered why it didn't work.
Oh I hear you there. I'm not delusional by any stretch....BUT, it is nice to hear them talking about bringing in a bat (if the price is right) at the trade deadline...as opposed to the annual fire sale. And, the one thing that weighs in the Pirates favor for staying in contention this season is the fact that the NL Central isn't exactly the toughest in the League. If we were still in the NL East....then I'd like our chances a whole lot less. As bad as they've been.....for me, I'm just enjoying the Hell out of it as long as it lasts....and hoping against hope that we're in contention for the long haul. If the solid pitching stays in tact.....and the bats can come around....that is very doable. Then again....those are two IMPORTANT ifs. Like I said....remaining rational! Ha ha ha!
What division were the Expos in back then?
Yeah, '03 was when the League was running the team and "shockingly" the other owners who were competing against the Expos for a playoff spot decided not to make any deals at the trade deadline to bring anyone in to give them that extra push at the end of the season (that teams in contention traditionally do). Now actually, I remember the days when the Expos wer VERY competitive in the 70's and 80's....the days of Rusty Staub, Tim Wallach, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Steve Rogers, Bill Lee, oh I could go on and on. But, the Expos and my Pirates were in the same division (the NL East), so I was always aware of them. Though I was just a kid back then, I still remember my Buccos "just" edging out the Expos for the division back in '79 (last time my Pirates won the Series). I believe they lost a 1 game playoff to the Phillies the next season for the Divison also. Back then they were drawing nearly 2 million fans a season easy. But, you are right, most people only remember the final years when they played before crowds of 6-7,000 a night and they were basically fledgling on the field as well. Of course Jeffrey Loria (the weasel from New York that now "conveniently" owns the Marlins) had a lot to do with that....then MLB put the finishing touches on doing them in.
