Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2011 10:20:32 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]St. Louis Cardinals (31-41) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (48-24)[/shadow]
STL: Paul Maholm (5-5, 3.46 ERA)
PIT: Juan Colon (2-1, 3.38 ERA)
The Central-leading Pittsburgh Pirates have leveled off in June, allowing the Chicago Cubs to crawl to within four games of the division lead. The Pirates have lost five of nine overall. Their pitching has been the biggest culprit as the Pirates have blown ties or leads in the seventh inning or later in four of those five losses.
The Pirates made a trade to try and bolster that staff, acquiring Tanner Scheppers from Boston for Clay Bucholz. Scheppers is streaky as he has fantastic stuff and movement, but has problems throwing his fastball and tertiary pitches for strikes. While his upside is higher than Bucholz, he's much more unpredictable.
That wasn't the only change Pittsburgh made to the staff. Lefty Juan Colon comes out of the pen to make his second major league start. He worked 6.2 innings in his first start against Milwaukee, allowing two runs on five hits in a tough luck, 2-1 loss. He throws a hard, late-breaking curveball and forkball that generate a lot of ground balls. In fact, working out of the pen before being inserted into the rotation, Colon has allowed only one home run in over 34 big league innings.
Pittsburgh's lineup remains the same as it's been all season, with a heart-of-the-order that's as strong as any. Reigning MVP Pablo Sandoval, Matt Wieters, and Alberto Gonzalez are each hitting well over .300 with double-digit home runs to help Pittsburgh leas the league in average.
It will be up to wise veteran Paul Maholm to slow down Pittsburgh's hitting. Maholm is having another strong season, with a 3.46 ERA and 5-5 record.
However, the rest of the Cardinals staff has been iffy, while the lineup has been subpar. To tweak that, the Cardinals made a move over the weekend for Gabriel Trinidad. Blocked in San Francisco, Trinidad has four home runs in roughly 100 Major League At Bats.
Of course St. Louis thought the team's infield would be strong this season, but Javier Santana is hitting only .214, slashing Yunier Castillo has seen his average drop 30 points from last season, and both Carlos Pena and David Freese are hitting below .200.
Questions for the GM's. For Alex Deal, your infield has been one of the worst in baseball this year. Any idea for the reasons behind the drop off?
You just acquired Gabriel Trinidad and Sergio Romo. What was the reasoning behind making the moves?
What's your gamplan to attack Wieters, Sandoval, and Gonzalez?
For Shane Callahan, what was the motivation behind acquiring Tanner Scheppers?
You basically traded Zach Grienke for Andy Dirks and prospects this offseason. Assess Dirks' performance.
What has been the problem with the back end of your rotation? You've tried a lot of guys back there. Are you settled with Colon or is this just a temporary move?
STL: Paul Maholm (5-5, 3.46 ERA)
PIT: Juan Colon (2-1, 3.38 ERA)
The Central-leading Pittsburgh Pirates have leveled off in June, allowing the Chicago Cubs to crawl to within four games of the division lead. The Pirates have lost five of nine overall. Their pitching has been the biggest culprit as the Pirates have blown ties or leads in the seventh inning or later in four of those five losses.
The Pirates made a trade to try and bolster that staff, acquiring Tanner Scheppers from Boston for Clay Bucholz. Scheppers is streaky as he has fantastic stuff and movement, but has problems throwing his fastball and tertiary pitches for strikes. While his upside is higher than Bucholz, he's much more unpredictable.
That wasn't the only change Pittsburgh made to the staff. Lefty Juan Colon comes out of the pen to make his second major league start. He worked 6.2 innings in his first start against Milwaukee, allowing two runs on five hits in a tough luck, 2-1 loss. He throws a hard, late-breaking curveball and forkball that generate a lot of ground balls. In fact, working out of the pen before being inserted into the rotation, Colon has allowed only one home run in over 34 big league innings.
Pittsburgh's lineup remains the same as it's been all season, with a heart-of-the-order that's as strong as any. Reigning MVP Pablo Sandoval, Matt Wieters, and Alberto Gonzalez are each hitting well over .300 with double-digit home runs to help Pittsburgh leas the league in average.
It will be up to wise veteran Paul Maholm to slow down Pittsburgh's hitting. Maholm is having another strong season, with a 3.46 ERA and 5-5 record.
However, the rest of the Cardinals staff has been iffy, while the lineup has been subpar. To tweak that, the Cardinals made a move over the weekend for Gabriel Trinidad. Blocked in San Francisco, Trinidad has four home runs in roughly 100 Major League At Bats.
Of course St. Louis thought the team's infield would be strong this season, but Javier Santana is hitting only .214, slashing Yunier Castillo has seen his average drop 30 points from last season, and both Carlos Pena and David Freese are hitting below .200.
Questions for the GM's. For Alex Deal, your infield has been one of the worst in baseball this year. Any idea for the reasons behind the drop off?
You just acquired Gabriel Trinidad and Sergio Romo. What was the reasoning behind making the moves?
What's your gamplan to attack Wieters, Sandoval, and Gonzalez?
For Shane Callahan, what was the motivation behind acquiring Tanner Scheppers?
You basically traded Zach Grienke for Andy Dirks and prospects this offseason. Assess Dirks' performance.
What has been the problem with the back end of your rotation? You've tried a lot of guys back there. Are you settled with Colon or is this just a temporary move?