Chatter, Birds at Bucs, 4-19-05
« Mulder makes good | Main | Chatter, Cubs at Cardinals, 4-20-05 »6:05pm, CDT: Fogg (1-0, 2.03 era, 0.92 WHIP in 13.1 ip over 2 starts) vs. Matt Morris, making his season debut after off-season shoulder surgery.
The Cardinals have creamed Fogg over his career, as he's gone 1-6 and allowed 38 earned runs in 35.2 ip for a 9.59 era. That is really bad.
Morris got in four starts in spring training, and two more in a minor-league rehab stint, and while some of the numbers from those starts are ugly (15 earned runs in 22.2 ip for a 5.96 era) there are encouraging signs---like 27 Ks(!!!) against just 5 walks and only 1(!!) home run allowed. His longest outing was 5.2 ip, last week.
I would be thrilled with 6 innings/3 runs out of Matt Morris tonight.
Posted by salvo at April 19, 2005 05:48 PMLadies and gentlemen, tonight's starting lineups:
Birds:
Grudz-2b, batting leadoff for the first time this year, I think.
Walker-rf
Pujols-1b
Rolen-3b
Edmonds-cf
Sanders-lf
Nunez-ss
Molina-c
Morris-p
Pirates
M. Lawton-rf
J. Wilson-ss
J. Bay-cf
Mackowiak-2b (anyone remember that great game he had against us, in what was it, 2003?)
C. Wilson-lf
D. Ward-1b
B. Hill-3b (that's Bobby, not Benny)
H. Cota-c
J. Fogg-p
How many times are the announcers going to say "That's an odd way Wilson took to get that ball..." and have the ball rattle around for a double?
Posted by: Iron_Throne at April 19, 2005 06:09 PMAdventures in the outfield for Craig Wilson again. I'm not sure if he's bad, or if he keeps getting balls hit just out of his range that bounce awkwardly off his body.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:12 PM2 pitches, one ball, one single. Cmon Morris this isn't the way it's supposed to go.
Posted by: josh at April 19, 2005 06:14 PMBecause I'm obsessive, I found the Mackowiak game I alluded to:
Aug. 20, 2003 (against Garrett Stephenson, Jason Pearson, Jason Simontacchi, et al) Rob Mack went 4-5 with a pair of homers as the Pirates pasted the Birds 14-0 ina game that featured a 10-run 5th. Pirate pitcher Jeff D'Amico also homered in that game, as Jason Kendall, Brian Giles, and Reggie Sanders--twice.
That 2003 staff really stunk.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:20 PMDoes Edmonds even hit homers to right field anymore? Some people will do anything for a little bit of attention.
Posted by: Iron_Throne at April 19, 2005 06:24 PMMorris looked pretty good carving up Craig Wilson there on 3 pitches.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:24 PMThat wasn't terrible by morris.
18 pitches, 7 balls 11 strikes. Take out the first at bat and he was ahead of everybody the whole time.
Posted by: josh at April 19, 2005 06:26 PMThe Pirate announcers were in the middle of an anecdote when Edmonds hit it, and their call was almost an aside--"Williams was scheduled to make a few rehab starts down at TripleA...as Edmonds gets ahold of one there...and he figured that the 20 or so innings would have him prepared blah blah blah."
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:27 PMYadier hits the ball hard, and good things happen.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:28 PMLarry Walker, paging Mr. Larry Walker...
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:33 PMWe have two RBI for you, Mr. Walker.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:34 PMBoy, Pujols has gotten two gift doubles courtesy of terrible fielding by Craig Wilson. 4-0 Birds.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:37 PMWell, they almost made it back to Edmonds again...
Posted by: another at April 19, 2005 06:38 PM
The Pirates do all the little things...really badly.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:50 PMMatt Lawton, meet the Matt Morris curveball.
Now sit down.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:56 PMWow!! Nice bender to Jack Wilson!! That's a pitch that Matt Morris just wasn't able to throw much last year...
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 06:57 PMI'm actually starting to feel sorry for the Pirates, after their latest shitty fielding attempt, this time by gary Ward.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 07:03 PMFeel sorry for the fans, but never the opposing team...
Posted by: at April 19, 2005 07:05 PMSo Taguchi has to be lying about his age.
Posted by: Rob at April 19, 2005 07:20 PMMorris is pitching a pretty good game. Even if it is against the Pirates.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 07:23 PMYadi with an XBH! I wonder if Oquendo sends Nunez if anybody but Wilson's in left.
Posted by: Rob at April 19, 2005 07:23 PMMolina, even before he got the three hits yesterday, had been hitting the ball pretty well, and that double he just hit was reminiscent of a coiple balls he hit down the line over the weekend that were outs.
I think he'll be fine. He looks like he has a clue up there, moreso than Matheny.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 07:24 PMGreat play in the hole by Jack Wilson to get Grudz. Despite the Pirates' announcers assertions (regarding two running catches by Bay), that's the first excellent play by a Pirate fielder tonight.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 07:27 PM6 Ks in 4.1 ip so far for Morris. Could he be...back? I mean, really BACK?
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 07:30 PMMorris with 62 pitches through 5. That's a surprise.
Posted by: Rob at April 19, 2005 07:34 PM62 pitches through 5, 43 for strikes...
Posted by: at April 19, 2005 07:34 PMMan, that's bad when in the 6th inning your #3 & #4 hitters swing at the first pitch against a guy on an 85-pitch limit. Morris could go 7.
Posted by: Rob at April 19, 2005 07:44 PMGood outing by Mo . . 7-1 K/BB - good curve . .now, are the Pirates THIS bad!!! Hell, if Morris can have a 4 ERA flat this should be a good rotation. We can all dream about 2001 Matt Morris with a healthy Carpenter.
Posted by: Michael at April 19, 2005 07:47 PMFree Abraham Nuñez!
Posted by: Rob at April 19, 2005 07:49 PMThis performance by Matty Mo has made me a little less excited about Mulder last night...
Posted by: Bird at April 19, 2005 07:50 PMI'm applauding my TV in honor of Matt Morris's surgically repaired shoulder and the six innings of 1-run ball it provided tonight.
Posted by: salvo at April 19, 2005 07:51 PMAnd by that, I mean that it is apparent from last night and tonight that this team (the Pirates) is absolutely DREADFUL...
Posted by: Bird at April 19, 2005 07:54 PMCraig Wilson may be available in a trade soon.
Posted by: Rob at April 19, 2005 08:37 PMDo you think they would accept game-used baseballs for him or will they have to be new?
Posted by: Bird at April 19, 2005 08:52 PM2 words for wilson: American League
Posted by: josh at April 19, 2005 09:25 PMwhose running this site just out of curiosity... an old friend of mine said he was but it doesnt look like his writing so i was just curious.
Aaron, I think there are something like 14 different authors on this site, and three main editors, although I'm not sure who they are. See if your buddy's name is on the Authors list in the left column of the front page.
Posted by: salvo at April 20, 2005 02:52 PM