Sunday, May 11th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Gorzo, Bay lead Bucs to fifth straight
The Pirates continued their surprisingly winning ways Saturday night as Tom Gorzelanny held the Braves to two runs in seven and a third innings en route to a 5-2 win over Atlanta at PNC Park. Gorzelanny continued the string of solid starts from a suddenly good (huh?) starting rotation that has pitched well enough to allow the offense and the bullpen to win baseball games. Jason Bay also continued his hot streak, hitting a two-run home run to put the Pirates ahead 3-2 in the fifth inning.
From a realistic standpoint, Bay is probably not going to be around after July 31, so it is necessary to root for him as much as possible now since a major part of the future of the Pirate franchise may depend on what Neal Huntington can pick up for him (that isn’t Cliff Lee, Franklin Gutierrez and Kelly Shoppach, the awful package that the Pirates almost traded for from Cleveland this winter). In other words, the better Bay can play for the next two and a half months, the better off the Pirates are.
Another interesting development from tonight was that, on Nate McLouth’s first night off of the season, Jason Michaels stepped into the CF spot and hit three for four with two runs scored. Michaels is a quality reserve player whose presence should be very good for the rest of the outfielders on the team.
(Chris Duffy is reportedly up to 120 feet in his throws and Neal Huntington is beginning to wonder aloud why his recovery is taking so long. The answer is pretty simple, I think. Chris Duffy does not care about baseball, something that he made clear when he walked away from the game two summers ago and something that he makes more and more clear each day he is out longer than expected. A player can have all of the talent in the world, but if he doesn’t have the will he’s not going to make it.)
Gorzelanny’s start definitely deserves some more attention, as well, as the co-ace of last season finally pitched up to his ability, hopefully getting ready to go on a run that reminds us more of the extremely talented Gorzo and not the batting practice Gorzo that shows up some nights. While he still isn’t striking guys out, Gorzelanny is getting outs again and that is the most important thing.
The Pirates’ recent streak at home is very nice for them and their fans and, hopefully, will boost attendance numbers. Yes, this team isn’t very good (even when they are winning), but Neal Huntington is legitimately trying to build a winner on the North Side (I recently saw the team he’s put together around him referred to as a very strong group of baseball minds by a national source, even though I do forget exactly where right now). They probably deserve some more support of the city, especially in about a month after the Penguins finish up their Stanley Cup run.
2 Comments
May 11th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Great site, first time visitor. I think if the Bucs can get, at any point, a good young third baseman and/or a starting pitcher for Bay, they’ll have to do it. Bay has been great for this team for 5 years, but it is just time to go, and if the Bucs can upgrade and get players who can start in the bigs, then they will have no choice.
May 11th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
From a realistic standpoint, Bay is probably not going to be around after July 31, so it is necessary to root for him as much as possible now since a major part of the future of the Pirate franchise may depend on what Neal Huntington can pick up for him (that isn’t Cliff Lee, Franklin Gutierrez and Kelly Shoppach, the awful package that the Pirates almost traded for from Cleveland this winter)
I don’t know…Cliff Lee is having an incredible season so far. Superb, really.
Alex, why would we want a young third baseman when we have Neil Walker, who is only about a year away?
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