Not a good weekend for the city of Detroit. On Friday, their beloved Red Wings lost the Stanley Cup on home ice in gut-wrenching fashion. On Sunday, the Tigers dropped the second of a three-game series to the Pirates, which
Carlos Beltran would surely consider 'embarrassing'. And on Monday, they'll wake up realizing that they still live in Detroit. Oh well. Maybe Matthew Stafford and Larry Foote can give them some exciting moments this fall.
On Sunday, the Pirates invited the Pens over for a Stanley Cup party before the game, which served the purpose of reminding everyone what a guy wearing a Pirate jersey while holding a championship trophy looks like, while simultaneously pouring heavy doses of salt into the open wounds that Detroit residents still deal with as we speak.
Qdoba Dan Bylsma
brought 16 of his merry men and a shiny trophy to PNC Park, including Max Talbot, Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal, Hal Gill, Kris Letang, Mark Eaton, Philippe Boucher, Matt Cooke, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Eric Godard, Jeff Taffe, Chris Minard and Mathieu Garon. A clean-shaven Guerin
threw the first pitch to hockey-obsessed Nyjer Morgan, and you'll be glad to know that although it wasn't a strike, it was not a "Baba Booey" first pitch, either.
As far as the game itself, Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis had a spectacular performance, doing his part to send the crowd of 27,565 home happy by walking eight Pirates and allowing six hits in three and 2/3 innings of charity work. A
7.49 ERA and 1-4 record, and for the low, low price of $10 million this year. That's some quality general managing.
On the Bucco end, Ross "Mr. Wonderful" Ohlendorf lived up to his WWF-flavored nickname, with a fantastic two-hit, one-run effort over six innings. Andrew McCutchen reached base four times, raising his average to .327, and Delwyn Young added three hits, ending the game with a .358 mark on the season.
Add in free ice cream bowls for the kids, a
6-3 Pirate W that raises their record to 30-33, and an appearance by Pittsburgh's own
Don Kelly, and that makes for a pretty good start to the week. To top it off, Greg S. heroically shot this video of the pregame Penguin ceremony, so in authentic hockey fashion, let's all bang our sticks on the board for him in appreciation.
