Results tagged ‘ brewers ’
Game 16 7-22-10 vs Brewers/Game 17 7-23-10 vs Padres
Last week was very productive for me. I finally got all of my thank-you cards from my grad party finished. I attended three baseball games in two different cities (a separate post on Cleveland is in the works), and got myself back on track as far as balhawking goes by recording multi-ball games back to back.
Thursday’s game was the finale of a four-game series with the hated Brewers. Shortly after getting in I was trying to find a good spot when a grounder made its way to third-base coach Tony Beasley. Someone yellled “TONY!!!” really loud. Beasley turned around, looked at me and threw me the ball even though I didn’t yell for it. It was nice to get lucky this early.
Here he is talking with Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek
The last group for the Pirates was up around 5:15 when Lastings Milledge began pummeling homers into the second deck of bleachers. For his last round I positioned myself in the aisleway between the 1st and 2nd deck of bleachers. He crushed one that came to rest in this alcove against the trash can.
I moved it aside and that was ball number 2.
When the Pirates headed in Evan Meek stopped to sign autographs. I got my freshly received ball signed by the lone Bucco all-star in 2010
The Brew Crew disappointed except for Prince Fielder who was demolishing almost every ball he hit into the RF stands. I was hitting myself for not going over there in staying in the more crowded left field.
I didn’t get anymore balls. I settled into my seats for what would be an intense game. There were bean balls, a collision involving Prince Fielder and everyone’s hero Eric Kratz, and Pitchers flicking off fans. The crowd was pumped for this one but the Pirates couldn’t come through. It seems like this whole Brewers-Pirates rivalry is starting to catch on. I can’t remember the fans getting on their feet and cheering as much as they did. It was unfortunate that we went home with the bitter taste of a 3-2 loss. Here are some pics from the night.
My seats were in section 125
Cryin’ Ryan Braun
Ross Ohlendorf (Whose record dropped to 1-8 despite having a rather respectable ERA of 4.39. Like c’mon guys give this guy some run support.)
Pedro Alvarez (who saw his streak of consecutive games with 2 HRs snapped at 2. He’s really come a long way since being called up.)
If you use Brewbook, you must have serious issues.
Worth noting that Joe, the usual in-game-host between innings was MIA tonight. The girl they got in his place was an epic fail. She got booed most of the night.
I was back at the ballyard the next day for the game against the Padres. Batting practice was less crowded probably due to the 95 degree temps outside. Whenever I got in, I nearly lost it when the Pirates wern’t hitting for whatever reason. There were just some coaches doing infield and catcher drills. They went in quickly after 5. Former Pirate and first-base coach Carlos Garcia came out to left field to pick up some balls that made their way out there. He fired, and I mean fired one of them at me. He clearly still has a good arm. The next one he threw almost killed a poor 5 yr old after he couldn’t get his glove on it.
I breathed a sigh of releif when the grounds crew started to set up for the Padres to hit. It was nice to have the bleachers to ourselves for the other team. Matt Latos and former Pirate, and splashdown king, Matt Stairs signed autographs before they came out. Im pissed because I had nice pics of them that didn’t save on my phone.
I almost had ball number two when Jerry Hariston hit one that hit an open spot of bleachers. However some autograph collecter carrying 2 suitcases full of cards beat me to it. Those people really tick me off. The gates opened but it wasn’t nearly as crowded as it was on Thursday. Some Pony League team that was playing in an exhibition after Sunday’s game was really the only competition. I wen’t over to the deserted area of bleachers by the North Side Notch. Will Venable hit a high fly ball that I caught on the fly in the second row. A mother thanked me for saving her from it as mostly everyone else around me lost it in the sun. I saw Matt Stairs and some other lefties were comming up so I left to go to right center. Turning back on my way up I watched helplessly as Aaron Cunningham hit a homer to the exact spot where I was standing. I made up for it as I got a ball from Heath Bell shortly after going into right center. He’s a real nice guy who tossed plenty into the stands. It was also my first toss up from an all-star. (Again, nice pic didn’t save).
Toward the end of batting practice I misplayed a ball hit by some unknown lefty that hit off the railing and went back into the field. I wasn’t too mad though because I already had three.
As for the game, it was pretty boring though the Pirates did make a game out of it. The Pirates had some good chances in the 1st inning but it fell apart when Jose Tabata was called out at home when he was clearly safe. He took the bad feeling from that into the next inning as he misplayed a routine fly ball in center field. By the end of the inning we were down 4-0. The bucs would make it close but couldn’t muster much offense off of Kevin Correia. Lastings Milledge continued to hit good with runners in scoring position which means Ryan Church will continue to sit on the bench (YAY!). The Pirates would eventually fall 5-3.
Now on a three game losing streak my record has free-fallen to 7-10. On the brightside at least my canvas photo wrap trifecta is complete.
My pull from these two games.
Stats
23 balls/ 17 games/ 1.35 avg
record 7-10
Check back soon for my post up about my trip to Cleveland
Game 3: Pirates vs Brewers (4/20/10)
Its weird writing a game recap from Tuesday’s game with what has happed so far this week. Had I been writing it Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, I would have been saying that maybe it was just one loss but it was the beginning of one of the worst series this team has seen in it’s 100+ year history.
Without any homework, I headed down early to the ballpark. Knowing that this game was in the middle of state mandated testing us seniors got to come in late this week so I had no problem including this on my 20-game plan. Thank you No Child Left Behind.
I got to the gates right before the 5:00 opening. I knew this would be an easy day for getting BP balls. Weekday games at PNC Park are sparsely attended, throw in a Pens playoff game and the fact that it is still April and you have a recipie for an under 5,000 crowd. For the first half-hour it was only me, and a few other regular ballhawks such as Erik Jabs and Nick Pelescak were roaming the bleachers. The first ball of the day came from Bucco utility man John Raynor. He hit a home run into the area of the bleachers called the “North Side Notch” in left center that I beat two others to. Not a clean catch but still nice. The Pirates soon after wrapped up batting practice and out came the hated Brewers.
Ball #2 came off the bat of Rickie Weeks. He hit a ball right at me that I lost in the sun. I finally got sight of it right when it hit the warning track and my 1st baseman instincts took over. I stabbed my glove at it and made a nice scoop. Ball #3 came off an unknown Brewer (most players were wearing windbreakers over their jerseys, a major pet peave of mine). Like the Weeks hit it was a ground rule double I had no problem catching.
There is Ryan Braun taking pop flies in left. (sorry for the crappy pic quality, took these with my cell phone.) “Cryin’” Ryan must have been in a good mood. Nearly every ball that came remotely near the fence, he threw into the seats. I couldn’t get one but I would have probably given it to a kid anyway. I can’t imagine owning anything that Braun has also touched.
Randy Wolf was cool as he talked to some of us fans while the lefties were lighting up the seats above the Clemente Wall. Apparently the team spent the off day at the movies where they saw ”Kick-***”, which he highly recomended. Im hoping to see it and let him know what I thought of it.
That was it for BP. After making it 2/2 on winning a pair of free tickets on the prize wheel I headed to my seats. The place was more empty than I thought.
I took those pictures at 6:30. A half-hour before game time.
The view from section 316 as Charlie Morton delivers the first pitch of the game
Charlie continued to struggle mightily. He did not record an out in the second inning and when he left 9 of the 12 batters he faced had reached base. By the time mop-up man Brian Buress was able to get out of the 2nd, the game was 6-0 and pretty much out of reach. Other than the 1st inning when the Bucs loaded the bases and were looking to make a game out it, the offense was silent. The Pirates were finally able to put up one run as in the 8th as the “Cutch and Clutch” duo struck again, with back to back doubles. The final score would stand 8-1 Brewers. There would be no 7 game win streak to start the year for me, and it was a sign of worse things to come for the Pirates in this series
Toward the end of the game I moved down. They announced the attendance at 9,328. I’ll let you be the judge of that estimate.
One of my favorite pictures to take, the skyline from the riverwalk in RF
My pull
STATS
3 baseballs on the day/ 6 total (2/game)
Record at games attended: 2-1
“Lets Go Pens” chants heard at the game: 3
Next game im slated to attend is May 8th so I’ll try and think of something to ramble about on here before that.
Pirates Suffer Through Worst Loss (And Series) in Team History
After two more blowouts at the hands of the Brewers, the Pirates today were looking to turn the page and get one more win before heading out on the road. They wouldn’t get it, in fact they wound up losing by a margin not seen since the team began playing way back in 1887. They fell to the hated brewers 20-0.
I will repeat that again in case you missed it 20-0.
Throw in 8-1 and 8-0 losses on top of that and what you have is arguably the worst series in team history. Here are some stats from the three game set. (DISCLAIMER: The following stats may cause headaches, chest pains, stroke and/or heart attack. Continue at your own risk.)
-During the three game set the Brewers outscored the Pirates 36-1
-In their 8 losses this year the Pirates have been outscored 85-13
-The Pirates have not scored a run in 19 innings
-The combined ERAs of the starting pitching of the three games (Charlie Morton, Zach Duke, and Daniel McCutchen) was 15.82
-The Pirates are now a -57 in run differential (54 runs scored 111 runs against). The Baltimore Orioles ,who own the majors’ worst record of 2-14, are a -35.
-And somehow through it all this team is still 7-8 and in third place. Baseball is a crazy game.
I had the unfortunate pleasure of being at the game tuesday. Still working on the recap (Teaser: I set a career high in batting practice.) I will now leave you with reliever Brendan Donnely’s comments to P-G reporter Dejan Kovachivek following todays stinker.
“Today was an embarrassment,” reliever Brendan Donnelly said, snapping off every word. “We should all be embarrassed to have Major League Baseball uniforms on our back today. It was an atrocity. We set a record. We should all be embarrassed about it. That’s how I feel.”
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