Results tagged ‘ Tony Watson ’
Pirates 7 Twins 2: Kevin Correia Proves Me Right and Wrong
Heads up about game recaps and this blog at least for now: they will be hit or miss and not your normal recap. I have an internship with the Erie SeaWolves (AA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) calling games on the radio and writing their game recaps so I have to be pretty plugged into those games. However, the TV in the booth usually has the Pirates game on so I do catch the action. Therefore no game recap means I didn’t watch the game and I won’t waste your time. I did catch some of action from tonight and this is what I picked up…
Josh Harrision should be starting every day. I really don’t like Jose Tabata all that much and his bad night at the plate combined with 9th inning fielding gaffe only made Harrison shine brighter to me. He may not have Tabata’s arm, but he does have greater speed, bat strength, and hustle. I’d rather have Presley lead off followed by Harrison allowing Niel Walker to move to the 5 spot, a better place in the lineup for his bat rather than 2nd.
Andrew McCutchen should not be 1 million+ votes out of starting the All Star game. He is an absolute beast. That is all.
Tony Watson is the real deal. Fans get so frustrated in minor league games when the managers leave out a reliever or starter after he’s been batted around for four runs and the bases are full but Watson gave an example of why it’s necessary. Young players who are successful and make the show bear down and get the outs with minimal damage.
Kevin Correia proved me wrong and at the same time, didn’t. Listen. He had a fantastic start by Kevin Correia standards. Shut out baseball with no real danger being caused. He had his best stuff going and got strikeouts and groundouts at key times. However, by that same token, he only lasted 5 1/3 and that is arguably the best he has in him.
If you look at a starter and say the best he has given us all year is 5 1/3 scoreless and he’s more likely to be pegged for 5-6 innings of 4+ run ball, I say get him out of the rotation. That is the definition of a spot starter/bullpen long reliever. You need your starter to have the capability of giving you a quality start EVRY time he trots out to the mound, not just once in a blue moon. Correia had an easy matchup and showed that he can take down a very inferior opponent: nothing more.
Pirates Eek Out Win With No Starter, McCutchen Stays Hot
When the Bucs replaced Karstens after just one inning, the panic button went on. The Bucs bullpen has been less than stellar this year and now they would have to pitch for at least 8 innings if they wanted to try to pull out a win. The good news for the pen? The Pirates offense finally woke up, thanks in large part to Garret Jones and Andrew McCutchen.
Jones was a triple away from the cycle and knocked in three runs off of a solo shot and double both times helping the Bucs stay in the game. Defensively, the Bucs were sound and Jared Hughes set the tone for the Pirates makeshift pitching performance.
Hughes went two and 2/3 with one run allowed. He was followed up by Tony Watson who completed Hughes’ innings and went another two before Evan Meek pitched a scoreless inning. Jason Grili gave up the game tying run off of a homer in eighth, putting the pressure on the Bucs’ offense in the ninth.
The Pirates pulled off another two out nine inning rally with Andrew McCutchen playing the role of hero again. McCutchen battled at the plate and managed to hit a slider low and away off the end of his bat for a bloop single that scored Alex Presley.
With the score now 5-4 Pirates, Clint Hurdle sent Juan Cruz out to finish off the D-Backs instead of Joel Hannerhan. It turns out he has tightness in his hamstring and will try to be rested until Friday’s home game versus St. Louis. The good news is that Hurdle picked the right guy has Cruz set Arizona down in order to close out the game and earn his first official save since 2009.
In my mind, this was a huge win for the Pirates as they were pegged to lose this one. Going up against Ian Kennedy and losing Karstens (we won’t know for how long until he’s back in Pittsburgh) was a recipe for disaster. Furthermore, many were critical of how Hurdle managed the seventh inning but in the end the Pirates come away with a win and a chance to win their first series on the road.
James McDonald will take the mound for Pittsburgh in a game that should be interesting. Daniel Hudson has been bad this season leaving the door open for the Pirates to grab another win. If the Pirates do win, they would be 5-7 after playing the Phillies, Dodgers, Giants and D-Backs. Not too shabby after all.
Spring Training 2012: Charlie Morton DL Stint Won’t Change Much
News today from Neal Huntington had to be somewhat expected after yesterday’s outing for Charlie Morton. Morton struggled with command after the 3rd inning and was already ahead of schedule as he rehabs from offseason hip surgery.
The schedule for his recovery is to pitch a simulated game on the fourth, travel to Pittsburgh for Opening Day, and then pitch in AAA on the 9th before being re-evaluated. The hope is that all of this added time will allow him to pitch on April 14th as the Pirates head out west to take on the Giants.
For the Pirates this means two things: A) What to do with the opened spot and B) What to do about the rotation.
For the first question, Huntington has acknowledged this gives the Pirates far more flexibility. With Juan Cruz making the 40 man active roster, the Pirates could use Morton’s opened spot to give to another worthy reliever such as Chris Leroux, Dan Moskos, Dan McCutchen or Tony Watson.
The Pirates could also use the spot to give to another utility player seeing that Yamaico Navarro, Matt Hauge, and Josh Harrison all are worthy of a shot at the show.
As for the second question, the Pirates may be able to get by on four starters if Morton comes back when expected. Due to the MLB scheduling for inclement weather, the Pirates get one day off in their Phillies series and a travel day for their West Coast trip that follows. This means that Erik Bedard and the numbers two and three starters would all get an additional day to rest in a normal five man rotation. (If I were Hurdle, I’d select Karstens and Correia unless McDonald gets his control sorted out soon. Putting him up against the Phillies could be disastrous.) (more…)
