Power Pros Forum

Too. Many. Exclamation points.

AnthonyP:

The Red Sox WON. They didn't lose 43-2, they WON 43-2.

He might have been mad because Capps blew the lead. But either way, limit yourself to three exclamation marks next time Anthony.

Oh. Okay!!!

Yeah, Matt Capps sucks in this game. When I had him in the draft I was all happy that I had a shut down closer. It didn't work out well...

He has good control and top speed, but his breaking balls blow! (No pun intended)

April 2008

The Pirates got off to a decent start, at least for their standards. During April, they compiled a record of 12-16, good enough to be tied as the fifth worst team in baseball. There offense has been struggling (Little side note, I've noticed that when you choose to do a fast game, it always ends up low scoring, like 2-1 or 1-0, stuff like that. Does this happen to anybody else?), being able to only score 90 runs, while giving up 107, a differential of -17. Not good. As for the rest of the league, the Mets currently have the best record in baseball and are three games above the Diamondbacks, who are one game above the best AL team, the Tigers. If there is any silver lining to this horrendous start, it's that there is still more than 130 games left to be played. Not to mention that at this rate, the Pirates would receive a top five pick to choose an impact player in the 2009 MLB draft.

Pittsburgh Pirates (12-16) @ Washington Nationals (7-21)
May 1, 2008

Soria Receives Save Chance

In the second inning of the Pirates game at the Nationals, Nady blasted a home run to put the Pirates up, but the lead quickly dissipated in the bottom half when Ronnie Belliard hit a laser up the gap to score two. With two outs in the third, McLouth ignited a rally with a triple, followed by a two run homer by Bay, and a RBI double from Nady. Nady hit another double in the fifth, this time scoring Sanchez from first. In the eighth, Yates gave up a homer to right, which started up the controversy, as it had just become a three run game. And so, the main story is how the closer carousel continues in Pittsburgh as Soria received and converted his first save chance of the season. Despite Capps being fully rested, the coach threw Soria out there. He did fairly well, as the only blemish was a two-out double by Belliard. When asked after the game, Stark replied, "We aren't making any changes. We're just testing things out."

Final Score
Pirates: 6
Nationals: 3

W: Maholm (1-0)
SV: Soria (1)
L: O'Conner (0-2)
HR: Nady (4), Bay (5), Johnson (4)

1. McLouth: 1-4, 3B, R
2. Sanchez: 2-4, RBI, 2 R
3. Bay: 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, R
4. LaRoche: 1-4, R
5. Nady: 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
6. Bautista: 0-3
6a. Yates: 0-1
6b. Soria: ---
7. Olivo: 0-4
8. Wilson: 1-4
9. Maholm: 1-2
9a. Gordon: 0-2

Maholm: 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 K
Yates: 2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 K
Soria: 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 K

San Fransisco Giants (16-16) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (15-17)
May 6, 2008

Pirates Rely on the Long-ball in Win

The Pirates have now won four out of their last five as they beat the Giants in the first game of the series, smacking four homers off of Tim Lincecum in the process. The Giants struck in the top of the first with a series of hit to go up by one. But then the Pirates bats came to life as Bautista hit his first homerun of the year in the second, McLouth and LaRoche each hit two run bombs in the third, and Olivo hit one in the bleachers in the fourth. Some trouble was experienced in the eighth when Osoria gave up two hits to lead off the inning. Soria came in and managed to only give up one run in the eighth (which was charged to Osoria), and pitched a perfect ninth to notch his second save of the year. And while he has a way better ERA (4.86 compared to Capps's 7.04), coach Stark is still adamant that nothing has changed and Capps is still the closer at the moment.

Final Score
Giants: 4
Pirates: 8

W: Snell (3-1)
SV: Soria (2)
L: Lohse (1-6)
HR: Bautista (1), McLouth (3), LaRoche (2), Olivo (2)

1. McLouth: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
2. Sanchez: 0-4
3. Bay: 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R
4. LaRoche: 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
5. Nady: 2-4, 2 2B, RBI
6. Bautista: 1-4, HR, RBI, R
7. Olivo: 1-4, HR, RBI, R
8. Wilson: 1-3, R
9. Snell: 0-1
9a. Gordon: 0-1
9b. Osoria: ---
9c. Soria: ---

Snell: 7 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 7 K
Osoria: 0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 K
Soria: 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 K

Long bomb for Bautista!!!

Soria and Osoria...

Yeah, I noticed that. It's kinda funny actually

Atlanta Braves (24-12) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (16-20)
May 10, 2008

Duke Contributes With the Bat to End Skid

The Pirates stopped their three game losing streak today with a close win over the Braves thanks to Duke. He was less than stellar, giving up thirteen hits, but made up for it at the plate. He broke the one-one tie with a single down the left field line in the second, hit a home run over the elevated fence in right, and then hit a double over the center fielder's head. When asked about his performance after the game, he was thrilled. "Oh, it's amazing! Knowing that as a pitcher, you were not only able to hit a homer, but drove in runs on all three of your at bats? It's unreal." With a laugh, he added, "Hey, maybe I could become a utility guy off the bench? Teams need as many of those as they can get."

Final Score
Braves: 4
Pirates: 5

W: Duke (2-1)
SV: Capps (6)
L: Soriano (1-1)
HR: LaRoche (3), Duke (2), Diaz (3), Johnson (3)

1. McLouth: 1-4, RBI
2. Sanchez: 1-4
3. Bay: 0-4
4. LaRoche: 1-4, HR, RBI, R
5. Nady: 3-4, 2B, R
6. Bautista: 2-4, R
7. Olivo: 1-4
8. Wilson: 1-4, R
9. Duke: 3-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, R
9a. Capps: ---

Duke: 8 IP, 3 ER (4 R), 13 H, 5 K
Capps: 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 K

You might want to change Giants to Braves.

Indeed. I always miss the little things like that.