Big Lead Sports Bar

4/26/2007

Bizarro Game

I always use Superman references when talking about Sidney Crosby, and since the Pirates are pretty much the opposite of Superman, the only way I can describe the 4-3, 16-inning win last night against the Astros is with the help of Bizarro. Ponder a few of these tidbits:

--Salomon Torres, the Pirates' "closer", already blew his third save of the season, giving us the seven innings of free baseball.
--Zach Duke, who entered the game with an ERA of 9.00, allowed one run over six innings. See, I'm glad I didn't make a wisecrack about him yesterday.
--Jason Bay, often criticized around these parts as one of the most unclutch stars in the game, was intentionally walked with two outs in the 16th.
--Adam LaRoche, who came to the plate with an .092 average, got the winning hit after the Bay intentional walk. It was LaRoche's first hit at PNC Park. He is now 1-for-19.
--If I told you the Pirates would have a game in which LaRoche would knock in the game winner and John Wasdin would be the winning pitcher, you'd never believe me.
--The Pirates had 55 at-bats as a team, managing just 10 hits. Chris Duffy had three, Bautista and Castillo two each, and the rest either one or none. Their team average was .182. But hey, they only left 9 guys on base. The Astros left an amazing 33 on base when you total each player's individual LOBs, including 10 by Morgan "LaRoche" Ensberg.
--The worst of the Pirate batting lines: Bay and Paulino were both 0-for-6, Wilson was 1-for-7, and LaRoche was 1-for-5.
--The game was the second-longest in PNC Park history, topped only by an 18-inning game these two teams played there last season.
--The Astros have lost five straight to the Pirates. How does Phil Garner still have a job?
--The paid attendance last night was a whopping 8,201. We Will: Have Lower Attendance in 2007.
--What's the best remedy for a tired team after a 16-inning game? How about a 12:30 matchup the next day, with Tony Armas and his 18,90 ERA as your starting pitcher?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

What was the over/under on the number of people left at the end? 150? The place was barren, and I can't imagine the next stop on the ArmasPalooza tour with an exhausted bullpen doing much to drum up crowds for the weekend.

Louis Lipps is my homeboy said...

The 8,000-person attendance?

I say good!

Maybe now ownership will finally get the hint that they need to actually put a GOOD team on the field if they expect us to come.

AJ said...

...or at least put another 30 bobble head nights on the promotional calender.