McDonald Shines in Rare Pirates Shutout

Pitcher James McDonald, necklaces dangling, had his best start as a Pirate, pitching seven shutout innings to help the Bucs knock Atlanta out of first place in a 5-0 win last night at PNC Park. Would it be wrong to call this one regular season win revenge for both the 1991 and 1992 playoffs?

Pirates Sign 16-Year-Old SS Dilson Herrera, Beat Cardinals Again

Continuing a recent and welcome trend, the Buccos signed another talented international amateur today: SS Dilson Herrera, a 16-year-old from Colombia. Sorry, that's the best I could do for a picture. It looks like it was clipped out of his high school yearbook and glued crookedly onto my screen.

Today's Headlines

The PITTSBURGH PIRATES notched yet another victory over the Chicago Cubs yesterday at Wrigley, this one by a 2-0 count. Brad Lincoln allowed just four hits in earning his first MLB victory, and Octavio Dotel finished off Lou Piniella's team for his 16th save.

Garrett Jones drove in the winning run in the eight inning, and Lastings Milledge drew a bases-loaded walk for the Bucs' second run. The Pirates managed the usual seven hits, with two singles from Andrew McCutchen leading the way.

Daniel McCutchen (0-3, 11.00 ERA) duels with Cole Hamels (6-6, 4.08) as the Phillies come to PNC Park for a 7:05 game tonight.

My take: If only this team could play the Cubs 162 times in a season, all our worries would go away. While the Bucs did win two games, they scored a grand total of five runs in the three-game series, winning 2-1 and 2-0 and losing 3-1. It's fantastic that the Pirates pitched so well, but they can't expect to win many more series when putting up such little offense.

SERGEI GONCHAR will go to unrestricted free agency today, and it's looking less and less likely that he will return to the Penguins. Ray Shero has been quiet on the talks with Dan Hamhuis, but apparently nothing has happened on that front, either.

Rob Rossi listed some of the Pens' alternatives in a column for the Trib today, including Kurtis Foster of Tampa Bay and Zbynek Michalek of Phoenix. Mark Eaton and Jordan Leopold would also move up the priority list in the event that Gonchar and/or Hamhuis decides to move on. Meanwhile, Joe Starkey is looking at another year of Winger Roulette, and adds a few names to the mix of players who could fill the always-present void at that position.

My take: It's funny how quickly things can change in sports. A few days ago, we heard about the plan to keep Gonchar and Hamhuis and build one of the league's deepest defenses. Now it's looking like neither one will sign with the team and the Pens will be scrambling to fill holes with lower-tier players. On the heels of the failed Alexei Ponikarovsky experiment, Ray Shero is in need of a truly solid deal; not necessarily a home-run, but definitely an extra-base hit.

THE PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS found enough room on their future schedules to ink a three-game deal with Syracuse, to be renewed in 2013 at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Syracuse would play at Beaver Stadium on September 19, 2020, and the Nittany Lions would visit Syracuse on September 18, 2021.

Meanwhile, a certain local college football team with a bit of history sits idly by, still not worth of the Nittany Lions' time. Coincidence? Obviously.

My take: You really don't know my take on this by now? 

Lilly, Soriano End Bucs' Win Streak at One

So much for the Pirates' uncanny hold over the Cubs this year - it did them little good on Tuesday night in a 3-1 loss at Chicago on Tuesday night.

The Battlin' Bucs, who were somehow 8-2 against the Cubs in 2010 entering this contest, could muster just one run, a fifth-inning Ryan Doumit solo shot, across the plate on Tuesday. Doumit also doubled, and Garrett Jones added two hits as well; but once again, timely hitting with men on base was not the Pirates' strong suit.

Of course, the Cubs weren't much better, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position - but if the other team scores one run and Alfonso Soriano hits two solo homers, you win. It's that simple, and that's exactly what happened for Chicago, which also got seven strong innings from perennial Pirate-killer Ted Lilly to aid their cause.

Jeff Karstens (2-3) allowed three runs (two earned) and seven hits in six innings for the Pirates, striking out two and walking one. If you take away those mistakes to Soriano, he has a pretty good night, but unfortunately, they counted.

The series goes to a rubber match on Wednesday, as old friend Tom Gorzelanny (2-5, 3.41) takes on Brad Lincoln (0-2, 6.00) at 2:20 p.m. at Wrigley. It's old Pirate pitching prospect against new Pirate pitching prospect - how's that for drama?

Rangers Walk Off with Sweep of Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost their third in a row, this one in heartbreaking fashion, to the Texas Rangers last night by a 6-5 final.

That's 14 road losses in a row and 15 losses in their last 17 games for the Battlin' Bucs, who are now 25-47 and dead last in the NL Central, 15 games back of St. Louis. That's a .347 winning percentage, which puts them on pace for 56 wins in a 162-game season. Only the Baltimore Orioles, at 20-52/.278, are worse.

Jeff Karstens, who apparently is the Pirates' new ace, kept the Rangers in check for the better part of the night, giving up three runs in 5 1/3 innings. But in the end, it was Vladimir Guerrero's RBI single off the freshly-recalled Steven Jackson with two outs in the ninth that would do the Pirates in, giving the Rangers a three-game sweep of the series.

The Pirates displayed some internal strife during the sixth inning, when coach Gary Varsho, Lastings Milledge, and Bobby Crosby got into a heated discussion over a botched hit-and-run - Milledge was thrown out at second and Crosby didn't swing. Varsho and Milledge had to eventually be separated, and Milledge said something to Crosby as they took the field in the next inning. 

The sad part is that the Bucs actually hit the ball well, with 14 hits on the night. Five players in the lineup had multiple hits, while Jose Tabata and Garrett Jones had three each. Pedro Alvarez added a double and 2 RBI, and Crosby continued his hot week with two hits. On the down side, four players struck out multiple times, and four players left three or more runners on base. So to say the Pirates blew a few opportunities would be a fair statement.

The Bucs try to set their problems aside and get back on the right track tonight in Oakland, as Brad Lincoln (0-1, 6.50) takes on Ben Sheets (2-7, 4.95) at 10:07 Eastern.The A's have lost seven of eight and have scored only 20 runs in those games, so this might be an interesting matchup.

A few Pirate notes:

-P Daniel Moskos and OF Alex Presley were both promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis yesterday after standout 2010 seasons so far with Double-A Altoona. 

Moskos, the Curve's closer, has 17 saves and 30 strikeouts in 31 innings, while allowing just five earned runs and nine walks. His fastball has been closed as high as 96 mph. 

Presley was leading the Eastern League with a .350 batting average and seven triples through 67 games, with 13 doubles, six homers and 47 RBIs to boot. Prior to this season, Presley spent two seasons at the high-A level.

-On Tuesday, P Chris Jakubauskas pitched in his first game since being struck on the head by a line drive in late April. He walked one and struck out five in three innings of work for the GCL Pirates, allowing four earned runs and six hits.

-Aki Iwamura will officially report to Indianapolis today and split time playing 2B and 3B, according to Neal Huntington.

-Daniel McCutchen will start for the Pirates on Saturday vs. the A's, but that will not be official until after tonight's game, allowing the Bucs to use an 8-man bullpen. In three starts with the Bucs earlier this season, McCutchen allowed 18 earned runs on 19 hits in 12 innings. At Indy, he was 4-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 10 games. 

-Peter Gammons appeared with Seibel and Starkey on Thursday and named Buck Showalter and Eric Wedge as managerial candidates for the Pirates. He also weighed in on the team's recent PR nightmares and the debate over Stephen Strasburg and the All-Star Game.

Cleveland: Always the Elixir for Whatever Ails Pittsburgh

If there was ever a town that could understand what the Pirates are going through, it's Cleveland, Ohio. As they struggle right now to maintain any shred of self-respect they have left to try and woo LeBron James, their city was probably a little bit distracted from a weekend series featuring two teams with a combined record of 51-86.

PIRATES DROP 9TH IN A ROW, ALVAREZ COMING UP

Well, so much for my grand plan that Brad Lincoln starting at PNC Park might sell some tickets. But the paid attendance of only 12,000 and change was only one of the problems faced by the Pirates on Tuesday night, as they lost for the ninth consecutive game, this time by a 6-4 count to the Chicago White Sox.

Lincoln went six innings, allowing six hits, five earned runs, three walks, and two hit batters, while exactly maintaining his lofty 7.50 ERA (which is still better than Charlie Morton's, by the way) and picking up the first loss of his MLB career.

Spotted a rare 2-0 first inning lead, Lincoln was ultimately done in by two Sox, namely Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez, who combined for four hits and four of the five RBI given up by the rookie pitcher. On two occasions, Lincoln walked the leadoff batter and allowed them to score, something that he's going to have to clean up in the future. But I can't be too tough on the guy, as I feel he's clearly got the talent and is a work in progress.

The top-heavy Pirate offense got three hits and three steals from Andrew McCutchen, two hits from Neil Walker and Ryan Doumit, and two RBI from Garrett Jones, but the timeliness just wasn't there, and once again, nor was the quantity. This is not a team that's built for comebacks, which they were incapable of from the sixth inning on, ultimately struggling against hard-throwing Sox closer Bobby Jenks to end the game.
Tuesday was also the PNC Park debut of Jose Tabata, who was 0-for-4 with a walk while batting in his usual leadoff spot. As for Pedro Alvarez, he has yet to materialize in a Pirate uniform, as he is still patiently marinating in Indianapolis.

Wait...breaking news....PEDRO IS MAKING HIS DEBUT ON WEDNESDAY! That means someone has to go. Well, this day's going to get a lot more interesting.

And speaking of rumors, Fox is saying that the Bucco brass is discussing the immediate future of John Russell, which I am very skeptical of. For one, I can't see the Nuttings paying two managers at once. They would use a coupon to get 50 cents off a manager's salary if such a thing existed. And what's the point of firing Russell now? Unless the new manager is bringing A-Rod and Albert Pujols with him, the Pirates are still going to struggle mightily to win games, no matter who is filling out the lineup card.

For what it's worth, Fox lists "long-term" replacement candidates as former Indians manager Eric Wedge (who worked with Neal Huntington in Cleveland) and St. Louis bench coach Jose Oquendo, and "interim candidates" as bench coach Gary Varsho, Triple-A manager Frank Kremblas, and Double-A manager Matt Walbeck. I'm sure they'll make all the difference.

The Pirates, now 23-41 and the baseball equivalent of a leaky boat that's taking on water fast, meet up with the White Sox again on Wednesday night at PNC. Come early enough and you just might witness Dejuan Blair throwing out the first pitch.

Alvarez called up by Pirates [PG]

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PIRATES CONTINUE STRANGE OWNERSHIP OF CUBS

They scored two runs. They went to battle with a less-than-intimidating 3-4-5 of Andy LaRoche (.248), Garrett Jones (.261), and Ryan Church (.204), a trio that's hit a combined 10 home runs - less than eight individual players in the NL. (And by the way, fun sidenote: I just realized that Jose Bautista, Ty Wigginton, and Jose Guillen have combined for 40, yes 40, home runs this season.) But somehow, some way, the Pittsburgh Pirates won their sixth game over the Chicago Cubs in seven opportunities this season, by the final score of 2-1. And as usual, it wasn't easy.

Ross Ohlendorf, who has been the victim of poor run support throughout the season, allowed only three hits and one run over seven innings, that one run coming as a result of an left fielder (Church) who doesn't understand the words "I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it!" when screamed by his center fielder. 

For his efforts on the mound, Mr. Wonderful walked away with a no-decision and continues to search for his first victory of 2010, despite giving up two runs or less in four of six starts. Maybe he can throw a perfect game to get a W. They seem to be quite prevalent these days.

Ironically, it was the aforementioned Jones that supplied the bulk of the Pirate offense on Monday, hitting a solo shot in the sixth and scoring the winning run in the eighth after a double to right. 

Neil Walker, one of the few Pirates who is hitting, had another two hits and upped his average to .321 since being recalled from Indy. Walker's had at least two hits in four of his seven games for the Bucs in 2010, and thankfully has replaced the dreadful Aki Iwamura for the foreseeable future as the regular 2B. 

The light-hitting Bobby Crosby capped off the Pirate "attack" with the eventual game-winning pinch hit in the eighth, scoring Jones. Like most Pirate wins, it wasn't  exactly pretty; but at this point, we'll take 'em if and when we can get 'em. 

The two teams lock horns again at PNC on Tuesday at 7:05, as Ted Lilly (3.63, 1-4) meets Jeff Karstens (4.78, 1-1). Offense, as always, will be optional.

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PIRATES CONTINUE DOMINANCE OF CUBS

I thought Tom Ricketts now owned the Cubs, but it appears I've been mistaken - they're obviously owned by the Pittsburgh Pirates, strange as that sounds.

After a 10-6 win over the Cubs on Friday, paced by five hits each from Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates jumped on Ryan Dempster for three runs in the top of the first on Saturday, and light-hitting Jeff Clement added a much-needed insurance home run in the 9th to upend Lou Piniella's team, 4-3, on Saturday. The win was the Bucs' seventh in a row against the Cubs, and their ninth win over Chicago in their last 11 meetings. I'd try to explain it, but frankly, I'm at a loss.

In this one, Octavio Dotel made it very interesting late in the game, but ultimately blew away Ryan Theriot and Marlon Byrd in succession to earn his seventh save. Paul Maholm gave up eight hits and two earned runs over six innings to raise his record to 3-3 on the year for Pittsburgh. 

The Pirate offense was far less potent than it was on Friday, yet was still efficient enough to pull this one out. Andrew McCutchen and Clement each had two hits for the Bucs, and Ryan Church drove in two on the afternoon.

The Pirates now sport a 16-20 record heading into Sunday's series finale, when Ross "Mr. Wonderful" Ohlendorf (3.00, 0-1) battles Ted Lilly (4.88, 1-3). The Buccos then travel to Philly for games on Monday and Tuesday, when the highly-anticipated faceoff of Roy Halladay and Charlie Morton goes down.

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CHARLIE MORTON AND HIS GREAT STUFF FINALLY WIN A GAME

We've been hearing about Charlie Morton's "Great Stuff" for what feels like decades, even though he hasn't even been with the organization for a year. In his first five outings of 2010, his earned runs were, in order, 8, 6, 5, 5, and 3, all losses. His ERA ranged between a low of 12.57 and a high of 21.60. To say that great stuff was not making much of a difference would be a fair assessment.

Thankfully, Morton appears to have turned it around of late, making some inroads in his previous start and finally getting his first win of the season last night in a 4-2 decision over the Chicago Cubs.

Morton went six innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out three and walking not a single Cub. His ERA was "lowered" to 10.30 in the process, the lowest it's been all season.

The Pirates are 12-15, and Morton has basically sunk their ship in at least four of those games. He may be just one man, but getting him to be even passable as a starter could make a noticeable difference with this team's results. Plus, there's the added benefit of less stress on the Pirate bullpen, which has logged about 26 innings in Morton's five previous starts. So consider last night a potentially big step, being extremely cautious in that enthusiasm.

As far as the Bucco offense, they had nine hits and four runs off of Cubs starter Ted Lilly in a balanced attack, featuring four players with at least two hits. Ryan Church homered for the second time in the series and Garrett Jones knocked in two to lead the charge.

The Pirates go for the three-game sweep at 7:05 tonight, with Randy Wells (3.45, 3-0) taking on Brian Burres (6.00, 1-1).

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PIRATES' WIN STREAK REACHES TWO

The 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates are masters of the dramatic victory, and they would prove that again with a 6-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in 14 innings on Tuesday afternoon. Of the Pirates' nine wins, three of them on the game's final hit and six of them  came in the ninth inning or later, so this was basically par for the course.

Ryan Doumit hit a pinch-hit solo home run off of the detiriorating Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning to tie the game, and Garrett Jones hit a two-out, run-scoring double in the 14th to win it for the Bucs. DJ Carrasco closed out the Brewers in the bottom of the 14th frame for his first win of the season, wrapping up three innings of shutout relief.

The Pirates got four hits and two home runs from Andrew McCutchen, three hits from Aki Iwamura, and a two-run homer from Andy LaRoche to supply the bulk of the offense. They finished with a respectable 13 hits on the afternoon, keeping in mind that it did take them 14 innings to rack up that many.

Paul Maholm allowed seven hits and four earned runs over seven innings, and the bullpen did a tremendous job by allowing just one run in the last seven innings. Believe it or not, but these teams now have twin 9-12 records after 21 games in the 2010 season. Personally, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that fact.

The Bucs have a long flight to Los Angeles, where they meet the Dodgers for a four-game series. Brian "Don't Call Me Plaxico" Burres amd his 9.31 ERA faces off against Clayton Kershaw in the first game on Thursday night at 10:10.

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BEATEN AND BRUISED

Starting pitcher Chris Jakubauskas was hit in the head by a Lance Berkman line drive in the bottom of the first inning, adding injury to insult in yet another loss for the offensively-challenged Pittsburgh Pirates. 

In their latest defeat, the Pirates managed just five hits in a 5-2 loss in Houston on Saturday night. The only good news of the night is that the CAT scan and x-rays were negative on Jakubauskas, per Rob Biertempfel of the Trib.

The 7-10 Pirates have now lost their last five games by a combined score of 45-6; their hit totals in those games were 6, 4, 8, 4, and 5. Regardless of their league-worst pitching and team ERA of 7.07, it's hard to win many games scoring one run a night. As a team, they are hitting a lowly .225, which somehow is only 28th in the 30-team league. 

Saturday night's lineup featured more of the ineptitude that we've become accustomed to. The 3/4/5 of Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones and Lastings Milledge was a combined 1-for-11 with four strikeouts. The only batter with any significant contribution was Jason Jaramillo, who hit a solo homer in the seventh.

I could go on, but I think everyone gets the point. The dual 7-10 teams wrap the series on Sunday at 2:05, when Charlie Morton and his 16.55 ERA throw batting practice against Brett Myers (0-1, 4.05).

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WORST. LOSS. EVER!

Only the Pirates could momentarily steal the spotlight from the Steelers and Penguins on the day of the NFL Draft and an NHL playoff game. But if this team has perfected one thing, it's the art of losing. And as far as artful losing goes, Thursday's matinee against the Milwaukee Brewers was a masterpiece.

20-0. 36-1 for a three-game series. It was the worst loss in team history, which is saying a lot considering the Pirates have been around for 124 years and have lost 8,969 games, according to baseball-reference.com. Dejan Kovacevic added that it was the most lopsided three-game series in the majors since the Detroit Tigers swept the Minnesota Twins by a combined 45-10 on April 23-25, 1993. And after Daniel McCutchen's effort today, 2/5 of their rotation now sports ERAs above 14.

John Russell seemed to put the blame on the pitching, which, to be fair, was beyond hideous:

"It's embarrassing," Russell said of the result. "We've got to pitch better. That's the bottom line. We can't keep giving up that many runs that early and keep trying to fight back. We've got to get past the third or fourth inning. We just can't continue to cover that many innings out of our bullpen. We've just got to do a better job with our rotation."

But if it were up to me, I'd be equally as upset with that pathetic excuse for an offense: eight players who generated one run in three games against the Brewers. The Pirates have one regular (Ronny Cedeno) hitting .275, and Garrett Jones still leads the team with the three home runs he hit over the first two games. Andrew McCutchen has gotten off to a slow start; Lastings Milledge has shown no power (literally, he has no home runs) for a three-hitter. I could go on, but you get the point. I'll spare you any more graphic details.

The 7-8 Pirates, who've been outscored 85-13 in their eight losses, travel to 5-9 Houston this weekend, where they will start off against Roy Oswalt on Friday night. I'd say they've hit rock bottom, but unfortunately there are 147 more chances to top what we saw on Thursday. I know it's never to get too high or too low after one baseball game, but the last three days feel a little different. Optimistic Pirate Fan, what say you?

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THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS

Earlier this week, I compared the 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates' results to that of the 1960 Pirates-Yankees World Series. Much like in that series, the '10 Pirates wins were all close, while their opponents' wins were all blowouts. 

Since I penned that article, the Pirates have played three games: the first was a 6-0 loss to San Francisco, the second was a 4-3 walkoff win against the Cincinnati Reds, and the latest was Saturday's 5-4 walk-off win against the Reds. If you're scoring at home, the Pirates have now won six games, with three of them on the game's final hit and four of them in the ninth inning or later. In their five losses, they've been outscored 49-12. It's been the most fascinating 6-5 start to a baseball season I've ever seen.

In their latest dramatic finish, Garrett Jones singled off the wall in right-center with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Ronny Cedeno and earning pitcher Jack Taschner his first win as a Pirate. Cedeno hit his first Pirate home run earlier in the game, and Lastings Milledge continued a solid weekend with two RBI a night after he beat the Reds with a walk-off single on Friday night.

The Pirates go for a sweep against the 5-7 Reds on Sunday, with Paul Maholm (0-1) battling former Bucco Bronson Arroyo (0-1) at PNC Park. I'm going with either a 10-0 Reds win or a 6-5 Pirate win on an Andy LaRoche walk-off grand slam. 

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2010 PIRATES RE-ENACTING 1960 WORLD SERIES

I realize the general demographic of the MH audience, but some of you might be old enough to remember a seven-game stretch of baseball known as the 1960 World Series. The games the Pirates won were all relatively close, with finals of 6-4, 3-2, 5-2, and 10-9. The games the Yankees won were decidedly not close: 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. It was a strange dynamic, and eventually took every last at-bat to decide the series, but things worked in our favor.

One can't help but think of the '60 Bucs series when looking at the early results of the 2010 model, a team that's given up 43 runs in their first four losses while winning games in more dramatic fashion, including a walk-off 4-3 win over Los Angeles last week and a two run ninth-inning to topple the Giants, 6-5, late last night in San Fran.

Aki Iwamura, who homered earlier in the contest, singled to center, scoring Ryan Church for what would be the go ahead run last night in a Pirate ninth that also saw Andy LaRoche go deep. Evan Meek pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Octavio Dotel did his best to make it exciting, surrendering a two-run dinger to Eugenio Valdez in the ninth before closing things out for save #2. Garrett Jones had three hits, two RBI, and the game-ending catch of a scorching line drive to win it for Pittsburgh. 

The two teams close things out at 3:45 today, with Charlie Morton and his 21.60 ERA taking on Jonathan Sanchez and his 6.23 ERA. Judging by recent (and 50-year-old) history, it's either going to be a shootout or a blowout, since we got the requisite win out of the way last night.

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THE PIRATES ARE PERFECT

The Pittsburgh Pirates started the 2010 season on the right foot, crushing the 95-win Los Angeles Dodgers by a final count of 11-5 at PNC Park. The sellout crowd of 39,024 at PNC Park was the fourth-largest in the stadium's history.

OF Garrett Jones was the story of the day, with two home runs and three RBI in his quest to prove that his 2009 season was no fluke. The Buccos, using a lineup with pitcher Zach Duke in the 8th spot, belted Dodger starter Vincente Padilla for six hits, seven runs, and two home runs in four 1/3 innings. They also got a double, home run, and three RBI from catcher Ryan Doumit and a three-run pinch-hit double from Ryan Church to pace the offense.

Duke limited L.A. to two hits over five innings, and five Pirate relievers managed to keep the team's 8-2 fifth inning lead mostly intact, save for a Manny Ramirez-led three run Dodger 7th. 

The Pirates have gotten off to good starts in the past and we all know how those seasons have ended; but there's no law that says fans can't at least celebrate a nice win over a playoff team on a picturesque day in the Steel City. 

The two teams meet up again on Wednesday night, with Clayton Kershaw and Ross Ohlendorf taking the mound for their respective teams at 7:05 PM ET.

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PIRATE NEWS AND NOTES

For the three of you who still care, some notes on our historic Pittsburgh Pirates:

--A day after setting the record for their 17th consecutive losing season, the Pirates allowed eight straight hits to the Cubs to start last night's game, which tied a MLB record. In case you're wondering, yes, they lost 9-4. High points included Garrett Jones' 19th home run and the Arnold Palmer 80th birthday ceremony. Kevin Hart vs. Carlos Zambrano at 12:35 today. [ESPN, PG]

--Vote in the Sports Pickle poll for the Pirates' high point in the past 17 years (not counting the Arnold Palmer ceremony).

--Lengthy articles on 17 were all around. Here's one from ESPN.com's Howard Bryant ("Lost Pirates recharting their course") with a quote from old friend Tom of Rum Bunter fame.

--And from SI's Joe Posnanski, "Pittsburgh's certainly not alone in baseball's era of futility". Some great/bad stats in here.

--Danny Murtaugh for the Hall of Fame? Sure, why not. It's not like we have many other candidates from the organization. [PB&G]

--Jason Bay hits the town in Boston. Apparently he stole Frank Sinatra's hat for the occasion. [Boston.com]

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#10,000

As the Pirates and Reds continue to labor through the Series That Baseball Forgot, I must interrupt my 1,318th post on the disrespect of Ben Roethlisberger with breaking Bucco news: Garrett Jones has hit the 10,000th home run in Pirate history.

Jones, who also hit #9,999, sent a 1-0 Homer Bailey offering into the right field stands at the Great American Ballpark in the second inning, tying the game at 1-1. It was Jones' 18th of the season, which leads the team. It may be all for naught, though, as the Pirates trail 5-3 in the bottom of the 8th. And FYI, Neil Walker is 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts batting in the two hole. Looks like he's adjusting to life as a Pirate just fine. I kid, I kid.

Jones hits 10,000th homer in Bucs history [MLB.com]

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UPDATED: NEWS AND NOTES

--John Legend visited Steeler training camp, and because of his Legendary status, got to meet Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, and James Harrison. Next up in the Celebrity Fan at Camp Experience: Kentucky hoops coach John Calipari on Thursday. The Steelers better not end up on probation because of this. [Kiss 96.1 Morning Freak Show, WYKT.com]

--The Pirates blew a 2-0 lead en route to a tough 4-3 loss against Arizona on Wednesday night. Garrett Jones hit his 11th home run, while Andy LaRoche added his fifth. But the Buccos only had five hits all night, giving them six hits in the last 18 innings. Just think, only 55 more games to go! [Trib]

--Some guy is selling his Pirate fandom on eBay. The high bid is currently at a very appropriate one cent. [eBay]

--Think things were bad for the Pirates? When Chris Brown is one of your fans, it officially just got worse. [Elvis Has Left]

--Is letting Fast Willie enter his contract year sans extension a form of disrespect? Sure, why not. [Bob Smizik Blog]

--How is 2008's "Best outfield in baseball" (Bay, Nady and McLouth) faring in 2009? [Rum Bunter]

--Here's a revised look at the Pirates' top 10 prospects, post-roster blowup. Sorry locals, no Neil Walker to be found. [Baseball America]

--Could the planets align for the Pirates to get wunderkind Bryce Harper next year? [PB&G]

--Brian "The Beast" Minto, who hails from Butler, will be dueling with Donnell "The Real Touch Of Sleep" Holmes on August 14 at Pullman Park. Minto is 33-2 with 21 KOs, while The Real Touch of Sleep is 31-0 with 27 KOs. When Minto wins, will the '72 Dolphins pop some champagne? [East Side Boxing]

--Troy Polamalu: two sport star? No, he's too busy dominating the NFL. [Trib]

--Longtime NHL player and coach Tony Granato is the new Pens assistant coach, replacing Tom Fitzgerald, who moves to assistant to the GM. Fun fact: did you know Granato's sister was a pretty famous hockey player back in the day? [PG]

--Lastings Milledge's shoes are deemed too bright by MLB's uniform police. So much for an attempt at making the Pirates stylish. [PG]

--Nipsy's Ssshhhh t-shirts are upsetting Flyer fans. That's a shame. [Philabright.com]

--JoePa finally got into social networking, and here's a look at his initial foray. Nicely done, Mr. Gallo. [ESPN.com]

--Dave Dameshek is counting down the top 20 movie fight scenes of all time (with video). This link takes you through #6-20, with the top five TBA. [ESPN.com]

--The Janne Pesonen Experiment is officially over, as he'll be playing in the KHL next season. Gotta go straight to the source on this story. [Pesonen and the Pens]

--Will the Big East soon raid the ACC? You know what they say about payback... [ESPN Big East Blog]

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BUCCOS AT THE BREAK

We're 88 games into the Pirates' soon-to-be historic 2009 campaign, and the Battlin' Bucs sit at 38-50, nine games out of first place and dwelling in the moldy yet familiar cellar of the NL Central. Pittsburgh limps into the All-Star break with a lowly 2-9 mark in the month of July, including a just-concluded and very depressing three-game sweep at the hands of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, highlighted by a backbreaking 8-7 loss on Saturday night where Matt Capps blew a four-run lead in the ninth. Yes, times are tough, indeed. But they're nothing we haven't experienced before as Pirate fans. We've built up a tolerance.

On the bright side, this is a team that somehow scored two All-Stars, after Zach Duke was named as a replacement for San Francisco's Matt Cain. For someone who's sported ERAs of 4.82 in 2008 and 5.53 in 2007, that's some unexpected good news. Duke, the first Pirate starter to get an All-Star nod since Denny Neagle back in 1995, will be accompanied on the NL roster by the human trade bait that is Freddy Sanchez (.316/6/34), who's making his third appearance in the midsummer classic.

The Pirates' organization also placed two players in Sunday's waterlogged Futures Game, including Pedro Alvarez and Brad Lincoln. Alvarez, a DH for the US team, was 1-2 with an RBI single and a strikeout. Lincoln was the final pitcher used by the US, yielding two hits and a run in 1/3 of an inning. That's probably not going to go down as the finest hour of his pro career.

Statistically speaking, the Pirates' team leaders in major categories look like this. As you can see, there's a lot of Sanchezes and LaRoches on that chart. Which will make the post-deadline roster look really interesting if they deal their leaders in every offensive category.

In typical Pirate fashion, there are plenty of subplots going at all times, and in addition to their daily blue-light specials on veterans, we're following their internationally-flavored signings (now with Lithuanian and Australian!), the emergence of Garrett "Babe" Jones, a potential Rookie of the Year candidate in Andrew McCutchen, and the most popular Indians since Pedro Cerrano and Rick Vaughn: Rinku and Dinesh.

The second half of the season begins on Friday night, as the Pirates lock horns with the 49-39 San Francisco Giants. And if the on-field action or off-field giveaways don't exactly float your boat, any remaining Pirate faithful can look forward to following the rungs of the organization's minor league ladder, where intriguing personalities like Ian Snell and Lastings Milledge are found on a daily basis. If head cases aren't your bag, you can always keep tabs on the trade bait of tomorrow, players like Alvarez, Jose Tabata, Gorkys Hernandez, and Tony Sanchez. As you can see, there's always plenty of activity to keep you occupied aboard the Jolly Roger. And in totally unrelated news, the Steelers report on July 31.

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