Author: mattbandi

When the Pirates dealt three relievers at the July 31st trade deadline, it looked like the rest of the 2010 season would be quite the adventure in the late innings. After seeing someone absurdly knock the Octavio Dotel trade because it hurt the bullpen, I decided to take a quick look.

I have a weakness for patient hitters. I thoroughly enjoy hitters who torture pitchers by refusing to chase anything out of the zone. Having said that, I think Pedro Alvarez could greatly improve his production by being a bit more aggressive.

Your Thursday evening reading, with appearances by John Sickels, Jack Moore, Chris Jaffe and Tom Tango.

WAR is a context-neutral statistic. Describing a stat as comprehensive, despite its disregard toward a player’s high-leverage performance, immediately damages its trustworthiness in many fans’ eyes. However, removing context gives WAR a stronger predictive value.

The Pirates had another late inning rally. This time they held on for the win by getting three ninth inning runs off Francisco Cordero. All three runs came around on a two-out double by Andrew McCutchen and Joel Hanrahan shut the door in the bottom of the inning.

If you have a few minutes to spare, please complete a Pirates entry for Tom Tango's Fans Scouting Report. This is a very helpful tool, but it only works with a large sample of entries. I believe the Pirates are generally one of the least represented teams and, while they are in the middle of the pack so far this year, every additional opinion helps. Please take a few minutes and contribute some of your Pirates expertise.

Earlier in the season, I took a stab at breaking down the Pirates’ unusual outfield alignments. About a week after writing that article, I set out to gather some additional data. I went to PNC Park, snapped some photos, forgot about them and moved on to something else. It is time to revisit that information.

By continuing to hit baseballs very hard, Neil Walker has made a case for some Rookie of the Year consideration. When FanHouse baseball writer Ed Price posted some interesting rookie stats on his Twitter feed this afternoon, I thought it might be a good idea to take a closer look at Walker’s chances.

Probable Starters RHP Tomy Hanson vs. LHP Brian Burres RHP Tim Hudson vs. RHP James McDonald RHP Derek Lowe vs. LHP Zach Duke

Probable Starters RHP Livan Hernandez vs. LHP Zach Duke LHP John Lannan vs. LHP Paul Maholm RHP Jason Marquis vs. RHP Charlie Morton

I was in attendance this evening as the State College Spikes fell to the Auburn Doubledays by a score of 1-0. The Spikes bats went silent as the team only managed two hits in the game. Click here to read a few of my observations from the park.

While traveling for work, I was able to stop in Altoona for a few hours on Sunday to catch a Curve game. Jared Hughes made the start for the Pirates’ Double-A affiliate, which is gearing up for the postseason. Here are a few of my thoughts after taking in a 5-4 Curve loss on a beautiful evening at Blair County Ballpark.