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The Pirates tried to dump him over the offseason, but they were not offered a package sufficient enough to tempt them.  Instead, Xavier Nady is trying to hit his way out of Pittsburgh, not that John Russell and Neal Huntington are complaining.  Nady hit the game-winning single in the top of the 10th, bringing Nyjer Morgan home.  Bringing Morgan in to pinch-hit was another very good call for Russell, who made another intelligent substitution by bringing him in to pinch hit.

Russell seems to have a plan and be able to effectively handle in-game substitutions much better than Jim Tracy did.  Where Tracy would freeze up and make some completely bone-headed decision, Russell makes the move that makes sense.  Morgan made sense tonight because you kind of knew that if he got to first base, he was going to score, either by stealing bases or by being strategically worked around them (as happened, with Luis Rivas bunting him to second, Jason Bay walking and Morgan moving to third on a passed ball during that at-bat and Nady hitting his single).

The story of the game is, of course, Nady, whose hit tonight earned him his seventh RBI of the season and continued his hot start.  The Pirates need Nady to keep this up because, if he continues to hit, he will be traded and, therefore, spare them the awful experience of having to deal with Scott Boras in arbitration again.  Nady is a good player who has the potential to start on many major league teams, but on a team filled with players like that, he is just another mediocre part.

In one of the more bizarre managing moves I’ve ever seen, Braves’ manager Bobby Cox moved right-handed pitcher Chris Resop to the outfield in the top of the 10th so that he could bring LHP Royce Ring on to get Adam LaRoche out, but still have Resop to face Nady.  The move made sense, but it was just odd to see happen.  Hopefully John Russell didn’t get any ideas (and you know that if Jim Tracy was still managing the Pirates, they would make a similar move three times in the next two weeks).

Unfortunately, this victory came with casualties in the middle infield, as both Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson left the game after batting in runs.  Sanchez aggravated a prior shoulder injury while playing in the cold weather, but a day of rest should bring him back to full strength.  Wilson injured his leg while running to first after knocking in the tying run.  He hopped down the line on one foot, turning a double or triple into a single.  However, it appears that it was only a minor cramp or strain, as he is reported as being day-to-day.

The magic number is still at 81, as the Pirates have a winning record and have won their first series of the year thanks to sensible managing and one player hitting like a star.  Let’s hope it keeps up.

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