Tidbits

Take a lot of young men making a lot of money and drop them off five miles from the party lines in South Beach and what do you get the next day if you are a Pirate fan?

A loss.

Throw in the fact those same party animals have averaged just 2.6 runs per game the last ten while managing an OPS over .700 just twice, and now face a team that has a per game OPS over .700 in 6 of their last 10 facing the likes of Santana, Danks, and Contreras and, well, you almost get one of those 'bet the farm' scenarios.

Since 2003 when Willis started against the Pirates, the Marlins have won every single game except one. In those five starts, Willis has never allowed more than three runs, and since July 2005 the Pirates have managed just 1.6 runs per game off him.

Bet the farm? Shoot, now you're at the 'bet your first born' stage.

Paul Maholm might have something to say about all this too. While he's 0-1 in Miami, he has a career 3.00 ERA/1.00 WHIP there and a 3.42 ERA in his last three games where batters hit a low .354 against him (hehe). Of course, .354 in Miami's heat is like .450, but that's still .050 better than Willis has allowed last three.

And he's going to need that advantage as the Marlins have an eye popping .477 slugging percentage their last 7 games (the Mariners were only .455 to give you an idea) while the Pirates have a .542 -- OPS! Oh, and we're batting just .199 in our last five games.

Ouch.

This game comes down to the Pirates middle infielders. The Marlins are going to sting the ball no matter if it is on the ground or in the air and it will depend on whether Tracy starts Sanchez at second or Castillo, imo.

If Sanchez starts and by the end of the third you see either two groundballs past him into the outfield and you're sitting there wondering if Castillo might have made a play on them, or two double plays not turned you know Castillo would have made, just turn the TV off because the score might end up being one of those lopsided affairs - again.

Or if you see Ed Hickox, Tim Timmons, or Bill Welke behind the plate, or Ryan Doumit start catching (unlikely), you might as well take the wife out to dinner.

On the other hand, the Pirates live for game one of every series so the best game you'll see in them will probably be tonight. We are 4-0 in our last four Tuesday games (Marlins 8-1 last 9), 5-1 after a day off last 6 (Marlins 5-0 last 5), and 13-5 in game one in our last 18 series.

And don't forget Willis believes he is trade fodder this July so he very well might continue to overthrow everything like in his last outing where he started on six days rest and lasted just 34 pitches before leaving with a tight forearm. And get this weird stat - the Marlins are just 3-11 in Willis' last 14 Tuesday games and 1-4 last 5 when Willis faces NLCD teams.

Bottom line? Look for the Pirates offense to start feeling more comfortable in the box and to break out - at least for one game.

--

Rumor spreading fast today: Nutting is set to announce Kevin McClatchy will be replaced sometime after the All-Star game. I'm sure he'll take another 6 months to name a new CEO, and another 6 months to announce Littlefield is fired, then another 4 months to find his replacement.

All the while the organization's 1999 five year plan will officially become ten years old and Nutting will continue to make his deposits.

--

Three Reds wins and three Pirates losses will put the Pirates in the cellar and in a position for the number one draft pick in 2008 where maybe we'll be able to get this guy.

--

Magic Number: 38  --  the number of losses needed to guarantee a 15th consecutive losing season.

Mark this game down in your calendar: August 16th.. Mets vs Pirates. How ironic would it be if Oliver Perez was scheduled to start that day and hand the Pirates their 82cd loss? Mets fans are already drooling to see it.

--

The Braves have gone 14-26 their last 40 games and they blame it all on the Pirates after getting mauled 13-2 May 13th in Pittsburgh. That was also the last series Mike Gonzalez pitched in.

--

Did you ever in your life think you would miss Randall Simon and Ryan Vogelsong?

Ughh..

--

The only Pirate worthy of being on the All-Star roster this year in my opinion is Tom Gorzelanny. Even LaRussa will be hard challenged to pass him by, although I have to believe the Pirates hope he does.

--

Yeah - we finally made it into Deadspin. Thanks to everyone that emailed. Man they push a lot of traffic at you. Whew! Great stuff.