Results tagged ‘ lastings milledge ’
Non-Tender Recap
This is a slow time to be a baseball fan. For most teams, the ball doesn’t get rolling until the Winter Meetings which isn’t until next week.
Game 18 vs Reds 8-3-10
Last week was another whirwind for me. I saw 3 games and had my college orientation. The first was a Tuesday nighter against the 1st place Reds.
Me and my friend Matt made our way down to the ballpark shortly before 5. Though we missed the gates opening, we were able to score front row seats above the Clemente wall from the Season Ticket office, and were in by 5:05. No loss there. The omnimous skys kept people away, and I was surprised they were taking batting practice. Batting practice hero Lastings Milledge found me yet again in the bleachers and hit a nice home run right to me. I now have as many homers from him in BP (3) as he has hit for the season. The curse of Jose Tabata would strike again as a fan beat me by a quarter of an inch to get a glove on a ground rule double. One of these days I’ll get it.
Reds BP was uneventful and unsuccesful as the droves of people from Cincy that made the trip filled in the outfield.
After bp we took our seats. This was the scene at 7:15, 10 minutes after the game was supposed to begin.
Im a little league umpire and you only delay games for two things: lightning and unplayable field conditions. Not clouds and a bone dry infield.
At 7:30 it was announced that the game was to start soon.
Paul Maholm and Mike Leake came out to warm up. At 7:45 it began raining. It was a light steady rain that games have been played through with no problem. Both pitchers had to quit their warm-ups half way through, and according to the rules wouldn’t get a second one. Way to go Pirates. The game would finally get underway at 8:30
The first event, and a really scary moment was when Andrew McCutchen was hit in the back of the neck with a pitch in the 2nd inning. (Crappy pic courtesy of my cell phone)
He came out of the game, but was back the next day. The Pirates would rally around that, and some shotty Reds defense, to break open a six run inning.
The desperate Reds would chip away the rest of the game. By the end of the 8th inning it was 7-6 Pirates.
Evan Meek managed to pitch two innings in releif of Maholm but tired throughout the 2nd one. He ended up throwing 50 pitches. Way too much for a reliever, but right now he and Hanrahan are the only two in the bullpen that can get people out.
When Joel Hanrahan came into the 9th to close it out, the drama was heightened as he let the lead-off man on. He would come back however, striking out two and slamming the door on the charging Reds to secure the win, and his first save as the new Pirates closer. This game was exciting, but much, much better ones were to come latter in the week.
Today’s lone ball
If you’re curious that is not an autograph on my ticket. Just a stupid “PW” they put on the stubs for playing the prize wheel.
Dem racing pierogi’s n’at.
STATS
24 balls/18 games/ 1.33 avg
Record: 8-10
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
Games 8 and 9 vs Giants (6-4-10 and 6-5-10)
This past week has undoubtedly been one of the busiest in my life. Finishing up finals on Tuesday and Wednesday, graduating on Saturday, throw in work, grad parties, and of course Bucco games, and I haven’t had a chance to breathe. I was able to make three games this homestand: Friday and Saturday against the Giants, and the rain-out makeup against the Cubs on Monday.
GAME 8 (6-4-10) VS Giants
After a 3 hour delay cancelled the Cubs-Pirates game on Wednesday, another round of rain threatened the playing of this contest. However shortly after 10 PM, the game got underway. I got there at 5 PM under sunny skies however BP was not happening (they took it earlier in the afternoon).
It basically seemed that the team was just wating for the rain to come, it finally did around 7 PM.
As the scoreboard showed the 2006 All Star Game in it’s entierty (along with scenes from Singing in the Rain and the entire 1979 World Series Highlight film) it urged patience, something I was lacking.
Finally the game would get underway at 10 PM.
The Pirates would somehow jump out to a 4-0 lead on Jonathan Sanchez but Zach Duke would stumble during the middle innings giving up 6 runs on three homers including a monster shot from Aubrey Huff. The offense soon gave up and 6-4 would be the final. I had to leave the game in the 6th because of my graduation the next morning, and my parents would not appreciate my being out at 1 AM with that looming. On my way out I got some pics
Centerfield
Guillermo Mota warming up in the bullpen.
I was able to get a ball from bat boy and fellow graduate Colin, so a shout out to him for getting me on the board.
GAME 9 (6-5-10) VS Giants
I was back at the ballpark the next night, after making appearances at some grad parties I made my way down to the ball yard in the bottom of the 3rd. I didn’t really care, all I wanted to see was the Skyblast extravaganza featuring Collective Soul. It was already 4-0 and the Pirates were shelling Todd Wellemeyer. Neil Walker and Cutch tore it up at the top of the order and are looking like a formidible 1-2 punch.
The Giants were able to cut it down to 6-3 in the top of the 9th. Octavio Dotel had loaded the bases, and former Pirate, and fan favorite Freddie Sanchez stepped up to the plate. He lauched a liner into the left-center gap that would have certainly tied the game. Lastings Milledge had other plans and made a Willie Mays-style diving catch to preserve the win.
The festive sell-out crowd was now ready for the show which didn’t dissapoint.
Fireworks were shot off of the barges on the river, the field, the Roberto Clemente Bridge, and even a couple of skyscrapers downtown. All of this while Collective Soul played which brought a great end to an amazing day.
Afterwards the park was consumed in smoke.
STATS
12 Baseballs/ 9 games/ 1.33 average
Record 5-5
Next post will be about Monday’s game where yours truely scored some foul balls, and TV time.
Game 5: Pirates VS Braves (5/21/10)
It was another 13 days between games, and I was itching to get back to the ballpark. I was also looking forward to the return of former Bucco Nate McLouth. Nate was one of my favorite Pirates in recent years, and watching him go from Jim Tracy’s doghouse in the early part of his career to an All-Star in 2008 was quite a treat.
Anyway the cloudy skys over PNC Park held up, and for the first time in a while there would be batting practice today. Upon entering at 5 the Pirates were just about done hitting. The first ball I had a chance on was a Ronny Cedeno ground rule double. It hit the fence on the hop mere centimeters away from my glove. It was no big deal because moments later Lastings Milledge hit a home run that I caught on the fly amid a sea of other gloves. Definitely one of the better snags I have had. The Pirates would wrap things up shortly after but not before Delwyn Young tossed me my second ball of the day.
The Braves were comming out and it was time to unleash my secret weapon
My dad’s ratty old Braves jersey. All but two buttons were missing on it, but it covered the Pirates logo on my Dri-Fit undershirt so that would do. The Braves are very lefty-heavy so I made my way into the seats in right-center field when the gates to the rest of the park opened at 5:30. I was just in time to see Jayson Heyward come to the plate. He would put on a show launching nearly every other ball into the seats. I had a very close call to getting one. It struck a seat a couple rows behind me and started rolling down the row behind me. It was between me and two other people, and another fan beat me to it by a tenth of a second. I also slammed my often injured left knee off a seat going for it so I would be hobbling around the rest of the night.
Right afterwards, another former Pirate reliever Jessie Chavez threw me my third ball. He’s the one on the right talking with coach Eddie Perez
The fourth ball I would get came from reliever Takashi Saito. He scanned all the people against the fence and saw I was the only one in Braves gear. When he flipped the ball to me and thanked him, he responded “No, thank you.” Sweet.
When BP was nearly over a ball hit by Melky Cabrera got lodged in the fencing in front of me. I reached down and pulled it out and gave it to a kid who was repededly getting shut out by his annoying sisters.
It was now time to go up to my perch and watch the game.
It was yet another uninspired performance for the Pirates. Ross “The Boss” Ohlendorf got shelled and the Pirates were only able to get 3 singles off of Tim Hudson. Final Braves 7, Pirates 0. The Buccos have now gone 17 straight innings without scoring a run. Jayson Heyward had a great game going 3 for 4 with a rocket home run that probably could have killed somebody.
Despite the bad game I would like to applaud the team for two things.
1. Free scorecards in game programs. I got sick of paying $2 every game for one so I bought a scorebook from Dick’s Sporting Goods to keep my games straight. Well last night a free scorecard in the First Pitch magazine made it’s debut. Good call.
Here is my one from last night.
Probably hard to read but all you need to know is that the Braves had a lot of colored in diamonds, and the Pirates did not.
2. Andrew McCutchen Photo Wraps
This giveaway surprised me. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It will look good in my dorm at Ohio University next year.
I will also be attending tonights contest against Atlanta, as struggling starter Charlie Morton takes on Derek Lowe. I’ll have a recap of that as well. As always I leave you with my pull.
STATS
5 baseballs/ 11 total/ 2.2 per game
Record at games attended 3-2 (Bullington jersey record drops to 1-1)
Hot Dogs eaten 2/ 6 total
Game 2: Reds vs Pirates (4-17-2010)
I was in an exceptionally good mood going to the game on Saturday. The Pirates, comming off a walk-off win the night before, were back to .500 and starting to catch fire. Also, it would be the first batting practice of the year, and I couldn’t wait to get on the board.
However, the weather didn’t look pretty. A cold front passing through last night left the city in an overcast freeze with temps stuck in the 40s. However, my friend Colin who is a bat boy tipped me off at 3:00 that the Pirates and Reds would be taking BP as long as it doesn’t rain so that was all I needed. Me and Adam arrived a little after 4:30 when the gates opened. There were only 5 other season ticket holders that were as crazy as I am to stand in snow flurries (yes it did snow) and chase after batting practice balls.
The Pirates were up and many of the players were sending theirs to the opposite field. Most of the balls that went into the stands were bouncing off the warning track and into the stands. As usual there were close calls, but no dice.
I would finally get my first ball of the year from bullpen catcher Herbie Andrade. He had a bat and was hitting balls sitting in left field toward the infield. After a while he decided to have some fun with us and started hitting the balls backwards into the bleachers. The first one went straight up and i ranged a litte to my left to get in perfect position. With a few converging on me it somehow ended up in my glove. I soon caught another one from him hit right at me, and I gave the ball to a kid who was struggling to get one through the whole BP.
At 5 the gates opened to the general public and things got crowded in left field. Rather than battle the people we decided to walk around a bit. We hit up the Prize Wheel (won two free tickets) and Press Your Buc (Got one of those reusable shopping bags they gave away last year).
Along the riverwalk we noticed security people opening the gates to the seats above the Clemente Wall. We entered and I was greeted by an usher who gave me a ball when I reached the top of the steps. I thanked him and was happy to see that it had been tatooed by whoever hit it
After a little more time up there we left and walked around some more. Said hi to our usher friends in sec 108 and 8, grabbed something to eat and headed up to our seats for the game.
The view from section 316
It was our first time in our new seats for the season, and I would love to hear of a better view than this one, and only $14/game to boot.
The game meanwhile got off to a fast start, and followed almost the same script as Friday’s. The Reds struck first putting up one run in the top of the first. The Pirates countered against Johnny Cueto, with the “Cutch and Cluch” duo of Andrew McCutchen walking, and then having Lastings Milledge comming up with yet another clutch hit, a double, to knock him in and tie the game. Milledge would score on a double by Delwin Young to take the lead. The score would then become 3-1 in the second when Ronny Cedeno out of the 9-hole hit a homer to LF. The Reds countered with two more in the third inning, as starter Daniel McCutchen, starting in place of the injured Ross Ohlendorf, would only last 4 innings.
The game went into a lull in the middle and late innings. The Reds would take a 4-3 in the 5th on a Brandon Phillips double. The bullpen kept things quiet into the bottom of the 9th. It was time for those never-say-die buccos to pull it off again.
Jeff Clement (barely hovering above the Derek Bell line at .107) grounded out to start the bottom of the 9th. Ryan Church, who has been a great spark so far this year got things started with a single to left. Reds Closer Francisco Cordero was struggling mightily. He then walked Ronny Cedeno and Aki Iwamura to load the bases for Andrew McCutchen. Cutch couldn’t pull through as he lined out to left. Could Lastings Milledge deliver walk-off hits on back to back nights?
Almost, he walked which brought the tying run home.
Garette Jones was now up and after looking bad swinging and missing on the first two pitches, he had worked the count back full. With the crowd of 25,000+ on their feet Jones sent a rocket into right center field that went off the wall and brought the winning run home. It was walk-off wins on back to back nights, and three in the last four home games. So far this year PNC Park has been a very exciting place to be.
Here are some pics from the game.
Former Bucco Bronson Arroyo with a trainer
Cutch dancing his way out of danger at the plate
After the 6th Inning, we moved down to section 8 where one of Adam’s friends has season tickets.
Cutch again (right before he gets caught stealing for the first time all year)
Lastings Milledge (gotta love the gold cleats)
The team swarms Garrett Jones after the game winner. Funny to see Brandon Philips untuck his shirt and throw his glove like a baby comming off the field as it’s going on
My pull
Will be at the game against the hated Brewers on Tuesday. I will have a recap of that one as well once its all said and done.
STATS
Balls: 3 on the day (1.5/game)
Times hitting my shins on a bleacher: 2
Bucaroos hot dogs eaten: 2
Piratefest Day 1
The day had finally come. Piratefest 2010 was upon us. Immediately after school i met up with my dad and brother and we were off to the convention center. However despite getting there nearly an hour before the 4 PM start time we were greated by this…
It was a line of 300 or so people that had already formed. They were here to see Bill Mazeroski who would be singing autographs for the early entry hour. In past years the crowd would be half the size.
Shortly after 4PM I had made my way into the Convention Center hall and in a short amount of time was waiting in another line to get my autograph. After what seemed like an eternity (but really one hour to be exact) I had made my way to the front of the line.
Here is the man himself signing my lithograph of his famous home run. On everything he signed, i noticed he put a little footnote like “HOF ’01″ or, in my case, he put “10-13-60″ which is the date he hit one of the greatest home runs in baseball history.
Along with Maz, Steve Pearce (red shirt) and Joel Hanrahan (black shirt) were signing.
I’ve always been a big fan of Steve Pearce. Maybe it’s the fact that he walks from his apartment on the North Side to PNC Park on gamedays, or that he got yelled at by a coach because he was talking to us rather than stretching with the team when we watched BP on the field last year. He’s a class act and it was a thrill to meet him. Im also a fan of Joel Hanrahan so getting both of their autographs was nice.
Soon after, I headed here…
The lost treasures area is chock full of game used jerseys, lineup cards, bats, and other miscellaneous things. I was determined to get a Pearce or Ohlendorf jersey but that hope came to an end with the price tags. All 2009 jerseys started at $200!! There was no way I would do that. Instead I found some other cheaper options including an Ian Snell Puerto Rico and John Grabow USA jerseys from the WBC last year. In the end I bought a 2008 Bryan Bullington jersey for $50.
The certificate certified that it was game issued rather than game used, meaning that he wore it while riding the pine in the bullpen. The fact he was taken over the likes of BJ Upton, Cole Hamles, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Howard in the 2002 draft have made him a symbol of all that has gone wrong the past 17 years. This jersey is my claim that I was around for the Dark Ages when the team finally turns things around.
Next I checked into the MVP zone. Since this was the early entry day for season ticket holders, it was packed. Charlie Morton, Daniel McCutchen, and Paul Maholm were inside signing. After getting them I heard a security person say Lastings Milledge was on his way. I immediately got back in line. After another 30 minutes….I made it
Andy LaRoche (who hasn’t met him?)….
And former Pirate (and pitt basketball broadcaster) Dick Groat accompanied him. The MVP Zone was much more crowded than in past years so the wait was long. My legs were tired so I stopped by the stage as the Q and A with the front office was about to begin. Unfortunately, the same old questions were asked and Neil and Frank were giving the same answers (Don’t these people read the news?) After hearing a question about missing out on Miguel Angel Sano for the fourth time I decided it was time to browse some more.
I came upon the radio booth and Extra Innings host Rocco DeMaro was preparing to do an interview with Andrew McCutchen.
Rocco is a great guy to listen to and hearing the interview was a real treat. After it was over, Cutch, along with security, was heading over to the MVP zone. I got back in line and after a 40 minute wait his signature was mine.
Ryan Doumit (who is probably my least favorite player) accompanied him. While waiting in line we got to meet Tim Nevrett. He is a great guy and we had a nice conversation with him. (Crappy pic quality courtesy of my cell phone).
The lines were dying down at the games so we did a full round in a short amount of time. We then left what was arguably the most productive day of Piratefest I ever had. Here are some other random pictures to leave you with.
The Maz Statue model
The site where it will be
The Cutch bobblehead (To be given out on August 8th)
The Garrett Jones Action Figure (Will be given out on May 22)
Not a giveaway but a ballin’ Barack Obama figure available for sale at one of the collector’s tables.
For golf, fans The US Womens Open trophy (the event is being held at Oakmont this year)
My pull for the day (not counting promo items).
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