Duke blows a head gasket, takes loss

Lots to talk about and little time so let’s get going.

The Orioles game had an exciting first inning and then fizzled.  I especially liked the part when Duke took the mound, got two fast outs, then gave up a line drive to Adam Jones that should have been a routine out in my mind had McCutchen been playing straightaway center, but he was in as usual and the ball floated right over his head to the wall for a triple.  Duke just looked down at the ground for a minute then walked slowly back to the mound and you could tell by his body language he was one pissed off camper.

Nine pitches later he had walked two batters, his 1-0 to Luke Scott was telegraphed and Scott crushed it through the right side, Church bobbled the ball, and two runs scored as a result.  Wiggy then hit another 1-0 telegraphed Duke offering to the left side which was also a fairly routine but Crosby’s first step was a stumble and the ball shot through scoring another run. That brought Montanez to the box who drilled a belt-high fastball into right to load the bases, and Turner mercifully ground out weakly to Alvarez.

That is classical Zach Duke.. he lets his emotions get the best of him way too much and the end result is an Ollie Perez clone just throwing anything over the plate not really caring what happens from that point forward. Usually he gets himself back under control after a few batters but not on this day.. he didn’t get that far until he took the mound in the second.

And did anyone else catch Pearce handing Alvarez an error? Alvarez was coming in hard on a little tapper, fielded it cleanly, and on the run threw across his body to Pearce who had to stretch to try to pick up the one-hop throw. Unfortunately for Alvarez, Pearce lifted his glove a split second early and the ball scooted underneath for an E.

I thought to myself, where the heck is Brian Boehringer these days?  To me it sure looked like Pearce didn’t try as hard as he typically does to glove that ball, but, hey, what do I know?  Hilarious. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mr. Pearce in the first cut after that play and him being thrown out at third running from first on a ball hit to left.

I’ve tempered my expectations about Pedro Alvarez since he pulled his greedy power-play with Boras after being drafted but I think I’m warming up to him. The reports of him having pitch recognition problems seem to be accurate the way he was lunging for the ball in a couple of his at bats. He obviously needs some time in the upper levels of the system and probably should have played Mexican League baseball, but I guess his weight issue was more of a concern. I’m not so sure.  But when he finally puts the bat on the ball, it’s crushed.  He even flashed some good leather but it’s pretty easy to see why scouts suggest his instincts and size might warrant a move to first in the future.  Perhaps that was a blunder on Huntington’s part.. worrying too much about value and not enough about his short-term needs to spend last year working him at first instead of thinking Clement was the answer? Hmm..

Daniel McCutchen put on a show throwing two solid pitches. You have to like him for a 7th inning role.. I think that’s where he ends up with his light stuff. Just a guess, mind you. I was also glad to see scab Donnelly pitch.. he didn’t appear to be throwing his best stuff but his fastball was sitting around 93 with little movement, which is a concern to me. Maybe he was overthrowing or the FSN gun was off because I don’t remember him ever throwing that hard. And Chulk with two more K’s.. un-be-lievable.

We managed seven hits with Vazquez picking up two solid knocks probably knowing he’s being watched by a couple of clubs right now.  Funny thing about that, he seemed to be running full-bore.. no lingering effects of a bad leg I could see but I didn’t have a stopwatch on him either.

It was a good game and it seems the pitchers are well ahead of the hitters right now. 

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I have a couple openings left in our MLB.com fantasy leagues.

1 opening for a live draft on 03/20 at 08:00 pm ET
3 openings left for a live draft on 03/18 at 09:00 pm ET

Leave a comment below if you would like to play.

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Dejan dropped a bombshell on us today:

“Cain, a 19-year-old left-hander who was the team’s ninth-round draft pick in 2009, had minor back surgery after a previous ailment inflamed over the winter.”  (my emphasis)

Previous ailment???  You mean to tell me that we drafted this kid and signed him agreeing to pay $1.15M knowing he had previous back problems? 

OMG.. and we wouldn’t take a risk signing Tanner Scheppers?  That’s crazy and doesn’t add up.

I shouldn’t say this because I wasn’t there but this is a perfect example of the type of crap that got Greg Smith in trouble managing a board in Detroit which partially led to the collapse of the Tigers farm system. Some people just have too much voice.

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Dejan also had this blurb in another article:

“The dominant overall impression is that it’s striking to me how disciplined everything is. The players move with almost military precision from station to station, the managers and coaches are wound tight as a drum, and there even is a sign on the bulletin board listing 11 players who that day did not maintain clean lockers. (No kidding. The player’s name is there, and right next to it is something like “Clothes hanging.”)”

I told you about the locker in the middle of the clubhouse action last year that was the laugh of the circuit.. Kyle Stark made it clear to the players that there is a place for everything and everything better damn sure be in its place.

You can’t treat young men like babies and expect them to respect you. You have to treat young men like men.  They aren’t going to Iraq to fight a war, they are playing baseball for God’s sake and it’s not their fault the anti-cheap ownership herd mentality exists. I realize they are valuable commodities but, come on, they are also human beings with feelings too. There is such a thing as too much and this is too much as I’ve been warning my readership here for two years now.  

.. “the managers and coaches are wound tight as a drum..” .. no doubt. Anybody want to venture a guess on how many of those field staff will jump ship after the season ends?  Remember now, these are all Stark hires who knew what they were getting into before they signed who would be running (think Troy Buckley, among others).

.. “there even is a sign on the bulletin board listing 11 players who” .. go sit in time out!

And, no, none of this stuff is what I was talking about the other day. There’s even more to come your way, although I hope it gets to the point you never hear anything because then it all worked out (unlikely).

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I’m still having a tough time finding someone to scout the Curve in the Eastern League but I’ll keep plugging along. 

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Here is the Pirates spring training minor league game schedule:

Mar-15 — CAMP DAY
Mar-16 — CAMP DAY
Mar-17 — 3A/2A @ PHI, 1A vs PHI
Mar-18 — CAMP DAY
Mar-19 — 3A/2A @ TOR, 1A vs TOR
Mar-20 — 3A/2A vs NYY, 1A @ NYY
Mar-21 — 3A/2A @ NYY, 1A vs NYY
Mar-22 — 3A/2A @ PHI, 1A vs PHI
Mar-23 — 3A/2A vs PHI, 1A @ PHI
Mar-24 — CAMP DAY
Mar-25 — 3A/2A vs TOR, 1A @ TOR
Mar-26 — 3A/2A vs NYY, 1A @ NYY
Mar-27 — 3A/2A @ NYY, 1A vs NYY
Mar-28 — CAMP DAY
Mar-29 — 3A/2A vs TOR, 1A @ TOR
Mar-30 — 3A/2A @ TOR, 1A vs TOR
Mar-31 — 3A/2A vs NYY, 1A @ NYY
Apr-1 — 3A/2A @ NYY, 1A vs NYY
Apr-2 — 3A/2A vs PHI, 1A @ PHI
Apr-3 — 3A/2A @ PHI, 1A vs PHI
Apr-4 — CAMP DAY

Related posts:

1. Duke @ Miller = sure loss
2. Duke bad-to-the-bone in loss
3. Snell blows gasket, keeps on running; Bucs win
4. Toasted Morton takes one for the team
5. Get ready Dodger fans, it’s time to Duke it out!